Aniki
by Shiroi Ai
Summary: AUish'SPOILER' What if Hao and Yoh weren’t separated since birth, but only 5 years after. But due to certain reasons, Yoh doesn’t remember this.updated Chapter13!sorry for the long wait mm
1. Chapter 1

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

Must I state the obvious? I do not own SK. =P

Warning:::

Spoilers on Hao's identity. Written based on the anime only. I have not read the manga at all.

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

Summary:::

**AU-ish** What if Hao and Yoh weren't separated since birth, but only 5 years after. But due to certain reasons, Yoh doesn't remember this.

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Chapter 1

Shouts of laughter rang through the air as two brothers enjoyed themselves to a game of tag. The younger of the two, struggled to catch up with his brother. He ran as fast as he could and was soon gasping for air. He was just a few steps from his older brother when said brother stopped suddenly, and both of them fell rolling to the grassy floor of the open field.

"Ni-chan! You did that on purpose!" He shouted, pouting.

"Aah, gomen. I thought you were tired." A five-year-old Asakura Hao looked at his twin's furious face and laughed out.

"What's so funny?" Yoh said, still pouting.

"You are, otõto."

"Hmph."

With that Yoh crossed his arms over his chest and turned away from his twin.

"Are you angry at me, otõto?" Hao asked, not realizing that there was a tinge of worry in his voice.

Yoh stayed silent, still facing away. Hao sat up waiting anxiously for a reply. Suddenly, Yoh flung himself at him and he fell again onto his back in surprise.

"Never, Ni-chan!" You said grinning that grin of his. He laughed cheerfully, hugging Hao tightly.

Hao smiled and hugged his twin back. He felt contented and happy in his embrace. Over a thousand years, there were only a few times he had felt this way. Yet he could find this kind of happiness every day he spent growing up with his brother. His innocent and gentle brother. He deserved a better world to grow up in. Not this filthy and conceited world. Hao will change that. He would build a better world. If not for himself, then for his twin's sake.

Yoh had fallen asleep on his chest. His head rose and fell to the rhythm of his breathing.

(I guess I made him run too hard. But then, it was important to his Shaman training.) Hao mused staring up at blue sky watching the white clouds roll by.

"ASAKURA HAO!!"

Hao's eyes widened in recognition. (No. It can't be.) He thought as he sat up quickly and stood defensively.

There they were. The Asakura clan. Surrounding them, a mere meters away. 

Hao gritted his teeth angrily at the invasion of his peace. His eyes narrowed, furiously glaring at the invaders and his fists clenched tightly. 

(This is not good. I've only mastered the basic powers of the Spirit of Fire with this body. I can't hold all of them off.) Hao thought regretfully.

"TODAY SHALL BE YOUR LAST DEMON! YOU'RE OUTNUMBERED!"

"Do you think your worthless threats will work on me idiots?" Hao shouted angrily.

"Ni-chan, what's happening?" Yoh suddenly said reminding Hao of his presence.

"RETURN YOH TO US!"

Yoh looked shocked and scared. "Are they going to take me away?" He asked his brother in a quiet voice. Clamping his hands onto the cloak that Hao was wearing, Yoh added, "Are you going to let me go?"

"Do you want to go? I won't lie to you otõto. These people are your family. If you go with them you'll probably be safe and happy. If you stay with me, you might get hurt. People may hate you just because you're with me." Hao told him regretfully. It made his heart clench tightly.

Yoh looked at him with shocked, teary eyes.

"So, do you want to.."

"I DON"T CARE! I WANT TO STAY WITH NI-CHAN FOREVER!"

"Yoh.." Hao was stunned. Then he smiled at the determined face of his twin. A face so similar to his own.

"You hear that Asakura! I will never give up my only brother!" Hao shouted triumphantly to the gathered clan.

The members of the clan whispered among themselves, puzzled. They knew Hao was not that foolish to think that he wasn't in danger. They had expected him to use Yoh as a bargaining tool for his freedom. It was what they had believed from the moment that Hao had taken Yoh when he was a mere baby; that Hao was using him. 

Yet here he was, saying that he **won't** give him up. Nevertheless, the confused clan tried to forget this as the signal to attack was given and they charged towards the two brothers.

"Stay back Yoh." Hao said summoning the Spirit of Fire.

"Hai!" Yoh said backing away. But as he did, he tugged at Hao's cloak one last time and said calmly, "Ni-chan, don't worry. Everything will be okay." 

Hao was surprised at his words. Then he grinned, "Aa. Everything will be okay."

With that, Hao entered the fight and gave it his all. But the battle was one-sided. There were simply too many of the clan to win over. Ten years from now he may have the power to do so, but at present it was almost impossible.

Hao staggered back, tired after the merciless attack on him. The Spirit of Fire had been dissipated after a few rounds of direct assault. He had almost exhausted all of his power. Still, a few of the clan lay defeated on the ground. It was not a total loss.

Hao winced in pain as he clutched his wounded shoulder. (I have no choice. Retreat now while I have the chance.)

Hao used all that remained of his power to summon the spirit again. Getting onto one of its hands, Hao commanded it to lower its other hand to where Yoh was.

"Yoh! Get on!"

Yoh managed to scramble onto the giant hand as the remaining members of the Asakura clan began to close in to prevent their escape.

Hao's heart sighed in relief when he saw his brother in his spirit's hand and he began to concentrate on orbing out of there.

The Spirit of Fire hung deep red against the blue sky as it began to blur. Just as it was about to disappear completely, Hao watched in horror as his 'father' shot a giant enchanted arrow towards the arm of the spirit holding Yoh, slicing it away from its body. 

Hao could only look on helplessly as Yoh fell headfirst towards the ground. His twin hit his head on the ground and was immediately rendered unconscious.

"**YOH!!!**" Hao shouted out horrified.

Then, Asakura Hao shed uncontrollable tears for the first time in a thousand years as the Spirit of Fire and its master disappeared from sight. What he did not realize then, was that his beloved brother would not even remember him until years to come.

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A/N::

Yo! ^___^ Dõzo yoroshiku! I'm new to Shaman King fanfiction. I hope you will like this story. Anyway, I'm a big Hao fan. (Why? Well I guess he's just misunderstood.) I was a 'bit' disappointed with the anime ending and the lack of interaction between the twins. So I decided to write this fic.(I also mourn the lack of Hao fics. ^___^)

Plz tell me wert you think! Leave me a review. Onegai-shimas! ^___^

Whether or not I continue this depends on the number of reviews I get. After all it could be a one-shot on its own.

Also: I'm not 'very' sure of the principle of the over-soul thing. Can someone plz email me about it? Thanx!

Review desu! ^__^


	2. Chapter 2

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

Must I state the obvious? I do not own SK. =P

Warning:::

Spoilers on Hao's identity. Written based on the anime only. I have not read the manga at all.

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

Summary:::

**AU-ish** What if Hao and Yoh weren't separated since birth, but only 5 years after. But due to certain reasons, Yoh doesn't remember this.

~¤~ I dedicate this chapter to Kitsune Asakura for being my first reviewer! Thank You! ~¤~

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Chapter 2

"Yoh……"

Asakura Keiko called out to her five-year-old son softly. She had been overwhelmed with joy when the clan returned with Yoh in their midst. She had wept when she saw the state of which he was in. 

Yoh had lay limp in his father's arms almost lifeless. His forehead had been matted with blood. Suffering from a concussion to the skull, it was a miracle for a mere child to survive such a fall. Keiko was furious when she heard that it was her very own husband who had fired the shot that caused Yoh's fall and subsequent injury. However she was also relieved that after 5 long years Yoh was finally home where he belonged.

Keiko called her son again as she had done for the past 7 days. With the help of a healer, Yoh slowly recovered but not once had he awakened. They said he was in a kind of coma due to the hit to his head. Keiko sighed sadly. Stroking the cheek of her sleeping child with gentle hands, her mind wandered.

The members of the clan who had been at the battle told her about it. How Yoh had actually insisted on staying with Hao. It confused Keiko to no end. Since Yoh had been taken from her, she had been stricken with grief and worry. She always believed that Hao would mistreat and abuse the boy. But this was clearly not the case. Besides the present injuries, he was in perfect health and his body held no scars. 

Yoh seemed very attached to Hao. Such affection could only come from love.

Could the warmth of the bond between twins have melted a cold heart? Or is Hao merely bringing up Yoh to be his helper, to use him in the years to come in obtaining the Great Spirit?

No. Hao had said, "I will never give up my only brother." He had clearly stated, be it consciously or subconsciously, that he saw Yoh as a brother; neither as a tool nor as a helper.

Her thoughts made her smile. For the first time since his birth, she had faith in Hao. Her distraught ancestor, her estranged son. If he could learn to love, perhaps the world had hope. Keiko had always regretted the years that Yoh was missing from her life but now she was glad that Yoh had provided Hao with love those few years.

"Thinking about Hao?"

Keiko's thoughts were cut short when she heard the deep voice of her husband.

"Hai."

Asakura Mikishka sat down beside his wife and pondered about the strange expression on her face. For some reason she looked worried about something. He was about to ask her when she suddenly said in a soft voice,

"Ne, anata? Did we do the right thing by bringing Yoh back? What if we merely worsened things?"

Mikishka looked down at his son with unwavering eyes and thought about the present situation. The tone of his wife's voice hid feelings of dread and of guilt. Perhaps she had thought as he did. The problem of separating the twins is a worrying problem indeed. Mikishka let out a tired sigh. 

"I am not sure. If you had asked me those questions weeks ago, then without a doubt I would have told you that yes, we did indeed do the right thing. That things would turn out for the better. But now I am simply not sure."

"Of course you are."

Keiko and Mikishka looked up as Asakura Yohmei, head of the clan walked into the room accommodated by his grandchild and sat down across his son. Lowering his head, his old but wise voice reassured them of their actions.

"It had to be done. Hao could have been filling his heart with hatred for the human race. Who knows how much he had learned from his brother's ways. Could you imagine a future with two of the most powerful shamans trying to destroy the present world just because they want to change it according to what they see as right? That's what would have happened if we left Yoh with him." 

"But Chichihue.."

"It was by mere chance we were able to find out about his location at that time. We should treat that as a blessing and not regret what has taken place. Yoh is where he belongs now, with his family and with people who will love him."

Keiko and Mikishka looked downcast but otherwise said nothing. Yohmei's words had its logic.

"Get some rest both of you. The child Tamao has predicted Yoh's awakening tomorrow. And I trust her foresight."

"Is that true? Yoh's waking up? That's great news otõsama!" Keiko said overjoyed.

Yohmei nodded as he stood up and left the room soundlessly. For a while there was silence, but Mikishka added in a weary voice.

"Chichihue may be right. But you didn't see the desperate look on Hao's face nor did you hear his horrified shout when Yoh fell that day. I fear things aren't as simple as we think."

Keiko said nothing but embraced her beloved husband nevertheless, not knowing how to react to his words. The two sat together silently contemplating how this significant event would affect the future.

All the while, Yoh slept on unaware about the debate that had happened.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Yoh woke up the next day as predicted. The healer was immediately summoned again and she did a full body check up on the five-year-old boy. Yoh was announced in perfect health and that he had no trace of injuries left on him. Keiko and Mikishka who were waiting on the sidelines rushed to hug their son as soon as the other clan members left to give them the privacy.

All this while, Yoh had been looking around with a gaze of wonder and an expression of amazement on his young face. When all of a sudden two of the strangers he had been observing enveloped him with huge hugs, he was pleasantly surprised and a bit embarrassed.

"Ano..Who are you? Where am I?" he managed to stammer out grinning sheepishly.

"Oh dear, we are sorry. We didn't mean to rush things. We just forgot that you don't know us. Because we are so happy you're finally awake and.." Keiko said hurriedly.

"Maa, anata. Slow down. You're confusing the poor kid."

"Oh dear. I-I suppose you should do the explaining." 

Yoh looked at the man expectedly waiting for him to explain.

"Firstly let me introduce myself. I am Asakura Mikishka and this is my wife Asakura Keiko. We are your parents."

Keiko nodded her head nervously at her son. Yoh was blinking in confusion and he seemed like he wanted to say something. But he had remained silent and there was an air of calm around him. He seemed much older and wiser than a mere 5 year old. Keiko wondered why he wasn't screaming his head off like any other child would if they found out that they suddenly had parents. Instead he offered a tiny smile as if to encourage his father to continue.

Gulping, Mikishka added on.

"Years ago, you were taken from us when you were a mere baby by an evil man. We spent those few years searching for you. Then at last, we were granted a chance to save you and we did. A week ago, the whole Asakura clan gathered and fought the evil man to bring you back to us. And we succeeded. But you were seriously injured from the battle and it took you this long to recover. Unfortunately the evil man got away."

Yoh looked down away from his parents' faces. "Sou kaa." He said softly and stayed silent.

Mikishka studied his son's reactions. What surprised him was that there was a lack of it. There were no bursts of denial that the man who took him away was not evil. Yoh did not even utter a word of relief when he told him that the evil man had gotten away. Perhaps Yohmei was right. Perhaps he had been overoptimistic of the relationship between Hao and Yoh.

After a moment of silence which seemed to drag on into eternity, Yoh gazed at them with a troubled look in his black-obsidian eyes.

Then, he asked something that shocked them both,

"Ore wa dare?"

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Glossary::

1) Aniki = brother

2) Hai = yes.

3) Anata = beloved

4) Chichihue = father

5) Otõsama = father

6) Sou kaa = is that so? // really?

7) Ore wa dare? = who am I?

Ahh Watashi wa ureshii desu! Minna-san honto ni ii!

Reviewer Response::

Kitsune Asakura:: Yup! You have the honor of being my first reviewer! Thanx!

unpredictable.l:: I really wanted to describe the battles more.(even though I'm not very good at it. Hehe .) That's why I asked about the over-soul thing. One cannot write about something if they don't know about it at all. @___@;;But I'll try next time. I've been rewatching the anime again and I'm beginning to understand a bit. Also Jessica explained it to me. Anyway, thanx!

piti opacho:: It's okay. Your English is pretty good. Thanx for reviewing!!

Chibi Dragon:: Here's the next chap! ^___^Thanx!

Jenny:: Thanx 4 the e-mail you sent me! I appreciate the effort and I hope you'll keep on reviewing!

Baka-Cupid:: Aah, you flatter me. It's not THAT good. I can't wait for you to write your story though. Tell me if you put it up. ^___^ And blabber as much as you want! I don't mind. Hehehe. Thanx!

Jessica:: Thanx so much 4 the explanation! I guess I understand more of it now. I'll dedicate my next battle scene 2 you! Promise! And as I told Baka-Cupid, write as much as you want. I love it when people share their opinions! I also love long reviews. I hope the shop stock comes soon! You'll enjoy the last few episodes.

NickeyWhite2:: Thank you very much! ^__^

Cessniper23:: I have continued! Thanx 4 reviewing!

Hikaru:: I agree, poor Hao-sama . I just love him and I'll try to treat him better in this fic. Thanx 4 the review!

ARIGATOU GOZAIMASU to my wonderful reviewers! You're all so nice! I've decided to keep writing and I hope you'll keep reviewing!

P/S:: 

(1) Ano, what is Yoh's father's name? 

Just some random ramblings:::

I saw the anime in original Japanese vocals with English subtitles. So my whole comprehension of SK is based on those subtitles. Unfortunately, I think those 'baka' production people (for the VCD) used at least 3 translators for the whole series. So you can imagine my confusion. 

For example:: Over-Soul is sometimes called Super Spirit. Asakura Yoh is sometimes called Macangye (I don't know how the hell they came up with this! Must be a direct Chinese translation..). Tao Ren is sometimes called Dao Lian. And get this, Hao is also sometimes called Yoh. Excuse me while I go kill myself so that I can haunt those production people ^_____^.

Thus, I had to either guess what they are actually saying or listen very carefully to what they say. It's so frustrating! It's also why I don't know the actual names of the minor characters and as I said a limited comprehension of the Over-Soul principle.

Okay enough of my rambling. ^___^

Again, REVIEW REVIEW DESU!!!


	3. Chapter 3

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

Must I state the obvious? I do not own SK. =P

Warning:::

Spoilers on Hao's identity. Written based on the anime only. I have not read the manga at all.

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

Summary:::

**AU-ish** What if Hao and Yoh weren't separated since birth, but only 5 years after. But due to certain reasons, Yoh doesn't remember this.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Chapter 3

Yoh yawned again for the 53rd time earning him another scolding from his grandfather.

"Yoh! How are you going to even start on your training if you keep dozing away?"

"Demo Ji-chan…"

"No buts! Now concentrate. Try to call the spirit from the leaf."

"Haaah…what leaf?"

"Pick one. There are many to choose from by the river."

"Oh ok." 

Yoh turned away from his grandfather dejectedly. (I wanted to rest. Maa, I guess I'll have to get it over with.) Yoh sighed.

Yoh took in a deep breath. He concentrated hard. His hands hovered above the piece of leaf at his feet. Yohmei smiled in approval. Yoh had a lot of potential; he looks focused when he puts his mind to it. Yohmei could see a great shaman out of him. He looked on in satisfaction and wondered about the extent of Yoh's power.

The soft breeze blew, the only sound heard was that of nature. The trickling of the water down the wide river, the rustling of leaves as they danced in the wind and,

"SPIRIT FROM THE LEAF! COME OUT NOW SO THAT I CAN GO TO SLEEP! COME OUT COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE! Please?"

Yohmei almost fell from the rock he was sitting on.

"AWW COME ON COME OUT NOW!" Yoh shouted jumping up and down.

"What in the world are you doing?!" his grandfather asked in disbelief.

"But Ji-chan, you told me to call the spirit from the leaf." Yoh answered logically.

"Uhh…" Yohmei blinked. **sweatdrop** Briefly he wondered if hitting his head had caused his grandson to lose his brains as well.

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The day he awoke, Yoh had shocked everyone with the fact that he had lost his memory. Everything from his childhood spent with Hao, he had forgotten. He remembered nothing. Yohmei wondered if this was yet another blessing. With his memory gone, Yoh will be easier to mold and teach without any prejudicial judgements. His heart would be free and not bound to loyalty to his brother.

Yohmei swore the rest of the clan into keeping the knowledge of the other Asakura twin a secret. Yoh was never to know about Hao until the time was right.

Nevertheless, Yohmei had to admit he had been worried. He had been afraid for his grandson, fearing that Yoh would sink into depression, leaving the child traumatized. After all, losing your memory is not a pleasant experience.

Yet the boy managed to surprise him. For instead of keeping to himself, Yoh was a friendly boy who immediately tried to befriend any of the clan members who talked to him. With his trusting and care-free nature, he bonded easily with his parents. He made up for his absence of five years in a mere week's time. 

When asked, Yoh said that he held no regrets for his lost memory. Smiling, his eyes twinkled in confidence as he said words which sounded like a promise he had made to himself. 

"Daijoubu, I'll remember someday. And when I do, I hope that that something or someone would forgive me for forgetting them. And I hope that whatever was between us won't be forgotten or changed except for the better."

For once, Yohmei could do nothing to respond. Half of the clan present did however. 

They cried, oblivious to the distress of a five-year-old who had no idea why people are crying because of something he said.

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At present, Yoh was at the verge of crying. A week after his 'awakening', his grandfather decided to start with his Shaman training.

Now Shamanism was something that totally fascinated him when he first heard about it from his parents. Instead of being uncomfortable with the subject, Yoh felt that he was very familiar with it. As if he had known about it all his life.

Yet now, after getting his first taste of it, Yoh's fascination was beginning to drop a notch. No wait, make that a big gap. It simply required too much work and was very tiring. What Yoh wanted was to relax and listen to his beloved music, something he discovered a few days before and had been addicted to ever since. Now one can hardly find Yoh without orange headphones stuck to his head like a headband.

"Try again Yoh. I've already explained it to you." Yohmei said wearily.

"Demo.."

"Yoh…(grrrr)" 

"H-haaaaai…" Yoh said reluctantly after hearing the warning tone in his grandfather's voice.

Letting out a tired breath, Yoh proceeded to try again without putting in much effort. What he didn't know was that he'd still be trying to four years later much to the annoyance of his grandfather.

After failing yet again, Yoh was finally granted some rest. While his grandfather muttered away under a nearby tree, Yoh sighed happily and laid down by the river. Crossing his arms under his head, Yoh let his body relax and closed his heavy eyes. With the gentle breeze blowing, Yoh was about to drift off into sleep.

But the wind carried with it the sounds of laughter from the opposite side of the river. Yoh immediately perked up and turned to face the source of the sound. A boy about his age was playing a game with an older looking boy and a blond-haired girl. 

Yoh watched the game in interest. The two boys grinned at each other mischievously and seem to be working together against the girl. Nevertheless the girl had a smug look on her face and glared back at the two boys with piercing eyes. The boys suddenly looked nervous and scared enough to run off in the other direction. Yoh had to sympathize with them. The blond was terrifying. 

All the while, even though he enjoyed watching them, Yoh felt his heart begin to weigh heavier and heavier. He broke his attention from the game and headed towards where his grandfather was. Crossing his short stubby legs under him, Yoh put his hands on his knees as he sat down and glared at his grandfather in the eye. Surprised, Yohmei stared back without uttering a single word. 

Glare.

Stare.

Glare.

"Well, what do you want?" Yohmei finally said when he could no longer stand the staring contest.(@__@)

"Ne Ji-chan, can you tell me something?" Yoh suddenly said in a serious tone that it made Yohmei curious.

"What do you want to know?"

"I know I won't be able to remember much of what has happened. The healer said it'll take a long time before I can remember everything. But just now I felt something."

"Felt som.."

"Ji-chan, did I lose something really important to me before?" Yoh said almost shouting out his question, cutting off his grandfather's words.

Yohmei could only gape. Seeing his lack of reaction, Yoh continued on determinedly.

"I'm trying to remember. Right now I feel as if I'm missing a part of myself. Isn't that weird? When I try to remember more, my heart begins to hurt real badly."

Putting one of his hands on his chest, right above where his heart would be, Yoh said with a pained expression.

"Why is this Ji-chan? Can you tell me?"

"I do not know." Yohmei lied. "Only you would know what has happened during your absence from us."

"Demo.."

"That is all I can say Yoh. Please don't ask me again." Yohmei said in a stern voice. 

"Hai…" Yoh said sadly. 

Seeing the downhearted expression on Yoh's face almost made Yohmei break down and spill everything to him. Nevertheless, he repressed that urge for he knew nothing good would come out of it.

"Yoh. It's getting late. You head back to the house first. I'm sure a great feast is waiting for you." He said instead.

Hearing the word 'feast', Yoh's stomach groaned loudly and grinning sheepishly, he gave an excited "HAI!" and sped off towards the main house laughing cheerfully.

Yohmei shook his head. (I'll never be able to understand his weird mood changes. It's worse than a pregnant woman's.)

Then clearing his throat, Yohmei said in a loud and clear voice, all the while staring ahead at the flowing river,

"Did you hear all that? He has clearly forgotten you. If you take him now, you'll have to do it by force. And would you risk the chance that he'll hate you for it? He is happy here with his true family. People who love him and would do anything to protect him. Leave now and never come back again. Hao."

Hao stood hidden in the trees as he had been for the last few minutes with a face filled with whirling emotions. Hate, despair, betrayal and sadness. They had taken away the only person that had ever brought joy into his world. All he wanted to do now was to burn every single one of his descendants and take Yoh back from them. 

__

And would you risk the chance that he'll hate you for it? 

Hao's eyes widened in realization. No. If the one person who had accepted him and loved him for who he was, if Yoh were to hate him, he would not know what to do. Gritting his teeth, Hao made a decision he would rather not. 

"Fine Asakura, you win for now. I'll leave Yoh in your care. I never did want to endanger him anyway. But when he is old enough, do realize that I **will** return for him. Or perhaps we shall meet during the shaman fight. Either way he will always be my brother and I intend to bring him back. It's all a matter of time. That is my promise."

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Glossary::

1) Demo == but

2) Daijoubu == It's ok.

3) Ji-chan (Oji-chan) == grandfather

A/N:: I guess this ends my intro part. I'm going to jump a few years in my next chap to the episodes' timeline. At least I think I will. ^___^;;

Reviewer Response:::

piti opacho ~~ Thanx 4 telling me Yoh's dad's name. I'll fix it later. ^___^ Aah the fic will continue..maybe, I hope, hehehe.

Chibi Dragon ~~ I'm trying to learn Japanese as well! ^__^ Just my anime to learn from though .

Kitsune Asakura ~~ Hehehe, thanx. (Growls at them 2.) 

tone ~~ I aim to please! ^__^ Thiz d next chap.

Ice-Phoenix ~~ Hai! ^__^ Here iz the next chap!

Jessica ~~ Hahaha, your review made me laugh. ^__^ I agree, that guy must be evil! Over at my place, there are two versions of the VCD (I think). One is the one where the episodes are sold separately-about 2 or 3 episodes per CD. Another is a complete set and you have to buy all of the VCDs at once. I bought the one with the complete set. Anyway, haunt the evil fat guy till he begs the distributor for the VCDs and threaten to call for Hao-chan and the SoF to burn his shop if he doesn't!! Hehehe.

Stardustangel ~~ Nah I wasn't planning on it. Even though I do read and write 'shonen ai', I'm not ready to venture into incest yet. A 'twincest' at that.^__^ I may read those kinds of fics but I doubt I'll be writing one soon. So ya, this won't be a 'yaoi//shonen ai' fic.

Nishi ~~ Hao and Yoh are my favorites 2! But I guess you know dat. **Asakura twins rule!!** 'grins sheepishly' . Hope you enjoyed this chap.

Baka-Cupid ~~ My gosh, another evil man! He won't let you have the last ep.**grrr** Don't worry, I'll ask Hao-sama to burn his store with the SoF if he doesn't sell you one soon too. Here's the chap. Hope it's worth your wait.

Cessniper23 ~~ Thanx for the information! It'll be very useful for my future battles. ^__^ 

firelizard_720 ~~ I continued! And um…I can't wait either! Hehehe. I mean I am getting there.

Waaaah, I'm so happy. Hope I can live up to everyone's praises!

My A-Levels exams are coming up! Which means I have to study more. Which means I have less time to write the story. Which means I won't be updating this frequently. T__T I cry a river…

Honto ni Gomen!

R-eading

E-veryone's

V-iews

I-mproves

E-cstatic

W-riter

So….plz REVIEW!! Onegai-shimas!


	4. Chapter 4

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

Shaman King iz not mine. I only own the rest of the world! Muahahaha! Thank you Hao-chan!.. =P

Warning:::

Spoilers on Hao's identity. Written based on the anime only. I have not read the manga at all.

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

Summary:::

**AU-ish** What if Hao and Yoh weren't separated since birth, but only 5 years after. But due to certain reasons, Yoh doesn't remember this.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

(This takes place after the preliminary rounds and before they went to America.)

Chapter 4

'Tap' 

'Tap' 

'Tap' 

13-year-old Asakura Yoh walked down the corridor of the house with his feet sounding noisily against the hard wooden floor. Stretching happily, he yawned widely and sighed contentedly at the wonderful music with headphones stuck to his ears. 

It was a beautiful afternoon. The bright sun hung brightly in the clear blue sky. Oblivious to him, the yellow birds sang their own melody as they flew freely under the day's watchful eye. The warm breeze blew against his dark brown shoulder-length hair and Yoh almost giggled as a stray strand tickled his nose. 

Yoh tied his wild locks up into a high ponytail and sat down fanning himself. Trickles of sweat ran down the side of his face as he fanned harder trying to cool himself down. It was beginning to get warmer as the sun continued to shine mercilessly. 

With the loud music banging in his ears, Yoh closed his eyes as he lay down on his back and was soon lost in his own dream world. 

"Yoh!"

Yoh began to hum softly to the tune of the music.

"Yoh!"

The song was a lovely tune. So relaxing……

****

"YOH!!!!!"

"Aaaaaaaa!!" Yoh yelped as his headphones were ripped away from his head and he was slapped awake by a familiar hand.

The weary shaman opened his eyes and sat up in a hurry, only to be greeted by a furious and terrifying Kyoyama Anna. Her eyes gleamed with unnatural light that promised revenge for being ignored completely. Yoh cringed and shuddered at the sight of the blond tigress. He began to sweat harder and somehow he knew it wasn't due to the weather. Yoh silently muttered a prayer to whatever gods that was listening to spare him from Anna's wrath.

"A-A-An-n-na..ha-ha." Yoh stammered scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

Anna was still giving him a murderous glare. Her eyebrows twitched in annoyance and her lips curled up in a sneer. 

"Ha. Ha. Ha. Yoh. Get up now! You're due for 5 km's worth of run. Don't come back until you're done." Anna stated crossing her arms across her chests expectantly and tapped her right foot.

"Awww.. Annaaa…"

"7 km."

"Annaaa.."

"10 km."

"……." Yoh did something wise by keeping quiet.

"Yoh…." Anna's voice was getting darker by the second.

"Hai! I'm going, I'm going." Said Yoh with tears flowing like a river. (Waaaaa..I don't want to..) T___T

Yoh walked towards the door with his future wife following closely behind like a prison guard. Yoh felt like a prisoner on death roll. 

Anna waited as Yoh put on his favorite pair of wooden clogs at the doorway.

"Bring me something from the Highland Garden as proof. And don't try to trick me. You'll know what will happen if you do." Anna ordered.

"H-hai….." Yoh stuttered remembering what happened the week before. He had tried to cheat in his rounds and after that he couldn't move his limbs for days.

Once out the door, Yoh tried for one last time to bargain for less run length. However, as if sensing this, Anna slammed the door shut in his face, leaving him gaping for lost words.

"Waaaa…." T___T

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

(A flower.)

(I think I'll get her a flower.)

(Geez. I sound like a nervous boyfriend trying to get his girlfriend a gift.)

(Who am I kidding? I'm engaged.)

Spirals appeared in Yoh's eyes. He had reached his limit of number of thoughts per day. Sitting there underneath the big oak tree, Yoh rested his tired exercised body. Vaguely he wished that his best friend could have kept him company. It'd be nice to have someone to talk to. But Manta had a tuition class. So here he was alone.

"Well, I guess I should be getting back." Yoh said out aloud stretching his exhausted muscles. Yoh yawned and headed towards the bush to his left.

The Highland Garden is a place filled with beautiful flowers and lush green trees. Yoh picked a bunch of flowers as golden as the sun and in his opinion a color that reminded him of a certain icy blond. It was his proof.

His mouth curved up in a slight smile as he hugged the flowers to his chest and started his run back home.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

(I wonder if Ren's there yet.) Yoh thought as he waited at the traffic light. There was supposed to be a get together at the house tonight. (I can't wait for dinner.) Yoh thought drooling.

The traffic light blinked green. The boy straightened his body and proceeded to cross the road. It was getting dark fast as the sun had begun to set below the horizon. 

Yoh increased his pace wanting to reach home before it was too late. (Horo Horo would finish everything before I even reach the front door.) T__T

However, when he was at about the middle of the road, a wave of emotions passed through him in a fleeting instant. It came and went like a flicker of light but left a feeling of uncertainty within him. Yoh clutched the flowers tighter as he looked around for the source of his confusion.

There.

Yoh spun abruptly towards his right and caught the sight of long silk-like hair swirling slightly in the evening breeze. It was in a rich dark brown, only a few shades lighter than his own. Expecting them to belong to a girl, Yoh stopped in pure shock when he saw the face of the owner of those flowing locks.

Not only was it not a girl, it was a mirror of his own features. His black eyes, his curved nose, his thin lips; they were an exact copy. Stupefied, Yoh stared at the boy from across the road. Yoh watched entranced as he squatted down to speak to a child who had big wide eyes and weird bushy hair. The other Yoh gently picked the child up and sat him on his shoulders. Together they began to walk away down the row of shops, disappearing around the corner.

Yoh's eyes widened in silent anxiety and his body moved without his control based on some forgotten instinct. He can't leave. 

(Don't leave me. Not again.) The words came into his head on their own.

His heart was beating furiously in his chest as he ran towards the retreating figures. He reached out his free hand towards them and his lips mouthed words that formed by themselves.

"Ni-chan..…" 

Came a whisper from a memory.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Oyamada Manta struggled with the heavy books in his short arms as he walked on his short unsteady feet. He dodged to the left and right trying to avoid the people passing by who obviously haven't noticed the extremely short boy with the enormous pile of books. Manta was burning with anger and annoyance at the girls who walked by chattering noisily about their boyfriends and at the boys who rushed past arguing noisily about the best soccer teams. He felt like exploding but in the end he let out all the steam.

(Sigh… It's not their fault I'm only 80 cm tall.) He thought sadly. Shouting at people out of the blue wasn't something that he was brave enough to do. That's more of Horo Horo's style. Speaking of Horo Horo, Manta wondered if the ice shaman had reached Yoh's house yet.

Manta smiled happily when he thought about the get together dinner tonight. So occupied was he at thinking, he almost missed the shouts of a certain dragon.

"Oi! Manta!" 

Bokutou no Ryuu came jogging up to him sporting his usual white Elvis-like clothes and Elvis-like hairdo. Green, sulky Tokageroh floated along from behind in his oversized armor. Manta paused in his steps long enough for Ryuu to catch up with him and both of them resumed their walk to Yoh's house.

Ryuu helped ease the burden by offering to carry the books, an offer which Manta accepted graciously. 

"Thanks Ryuu-san." Manta said relieved.

"Yo, Manta what the hell are these books?" Ryuu asked curiously lifting up the top one of the pile and squinted to read the title. With the fast disappearing sunlight, Ryuu gave up with a frustrated groan and turned to Manta expectantly for an answer.

"Ah that is just some books on you shamans. I've been doing some reading and light research….bla bla bla…"

(He calls this light. My arms are going to break.) Ryuu rolled his eyes and turned to see Tokageroh do the same. Both of them sighed as Manta droned on and on.

"You know it's interesting that there is this legend that a shaman's spirit is the strongest…..bla bla bla….double….bla bla bla….merge powers…bla bla bla…."

"Let me kill him." Tokageroh whispered to Ryuu with a crazy gleam in his eyes and his hand fingered his sword longingly.

Ryuu had to practically restrain from permitting his spirit to do so just so Manta could stop talking. Instead he laughed nervously and asked the agitated ghost to stop joking. 

Like a giant and a dwarf marching side by side, anyone would find it hard to believe that they were only 5 years apart in age. They walked on passing a row of shops that were closing up for the day. Rounding a corner, Ryuu began to struggle against the weight of the books and the excited chatter of his companion.

"Hey look there's Yoh-kun! Anna must be torturing him again. I feel sorry for him." Manta suddenly said.

Ryuu looked towards where he was pointing at and saw the brown-haired shaman he knew so well.

Yoh was wearing his normal workout clothes, with his trademark headphones stuck to his head and in his hands were a bunch of pretty golden flowers. He stood there at the roadside, waiting and looked lost in thought as he stared ahead with a goofy grin on his face.

"Danna!" Ryuu shouted after him but then he was probably still too far away to hear him.

The lights turned green and Yoh began to cross the road.

Ryuu gestured to Manta to walk faster, quite a feat for his short legs. 

Then all of a sudden, Yoh came to a stop in the middle of the road with his whole body looking tense. Ryuu watched on as Yoh looked around with wide obsidian eyes as if searching for something.

"What in the world is he doing?" Manta wondered out aloud and then turned around to look at Ryuu.

The tall shaman merely shrugged. He had no idea whatsoever.

Then Yoh turned abruptly towards the opposite side of the road and after a moment or two, began running in that direction.

"R-ryuu-san, look." Manta said in a horrified tone. Again, Ryuu glanced to wherever Manta pointed to. His heart almost stopped.

A heavy truck came speeding down the road at an alarming pace. 

But Yoh had not seen the truck. He had not heard the desperate honks from the driver. He had not known that the driver tried to swerve the truck to avoid hitting the boy directly.

A second was all it took. It was time that Ryuu did not have enough of to save him. It was time that Manta did not have enough to even shout a warning.

****

"YOH-KUN!!!!"

"DANNA!!!"

Both of them watched helplessly as the collision happened and the huge vehicle hit Yoh even with the efforts of the driver to avoid him. His body flew from the momentum and landed a few feet away from the point of impact. 

The driver scrambled away quickly from the wreckage and escaped uninjured except for a few bruises. Both Ryuu and Manta ignored the shouts of warning from him as they ran towards Yoh's limp and unmoving form. 

The broken glass of the window shield crackled in the blazing flames. The truck lay on its side with gas leaking out from its tank. It did not take a genius to figure out what could happen at any moment from thereon.

Ryuu took battered figure in a gentle embrace and carried him carefully away from the roaring inferno while Manta quickly called for an ambulance.

In his arms, Yoh's eyes fluttered open slowly and he smiled gently. 

"Ni-chan…." Yoh managed to say softly before darkness claimed him and he fell unconscious.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Argh."

Hao clutched a hand to the side of his head, which had suddenly begun to throb painfully. His body almost curled up as if in a desperate way to shield himself from an unknown source of his agony.

"Hao-sama! Daijoubu?!" Opacho asked worriedly, looking down.

The pain began to subside in a mere minute, and then disappeared without a trace. Hao straightened his composure and looked around in confusion. Gritting his teeth furiously at his own helplessness, the flustered shaman turned and marched away not realizing what had taken place just a few moments before. 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Beautiful golden petals played in the wind among the precious red-wine blood splattered on the ground.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Glossary:::

Danna--- Master (What Ryuu calls Yoh.)

Aa--- Yes (Masculine)

Sorry for the long wait!! , Gomen kudasai de gozaru…

But I think I made up for that with this much longer chapter. ^__^

Sankyuu minna!! I feel so loved! Hehehe. ^__^;; 

Reviewer Response::

piti opacho I was sorta aiming for that, to make it sorta blend into the original series. ^___^ And I continued! Hope U liked!

Baka-Cupid Don't underestimate yourself, I'm sure you can write something better than this. I'll look forward 2 reading it! And it's a pleasure to know how you feel. So don't worry yourself about it. As I said, blabber as much as you want. I love to hear from you guys.^___^

Chibi Dragon Konnichiwa CD-san. Don't even for once think that you're annoying. I simply adore your reviews and I would be extremely HAPPY if you would want to review every chapter I put up! ^___^

Maru Kazegami Waaa. Did it really make you cry? Hope this chap was uhm.. happier..Hehehe.

Ice-Phoenix Yup he is. ^___^ Hope u liked this chap.

tone I did it on purpose =P Hehehe. I'm glad someone else agrees with me that Hao is misunderstood. **sighs** Poor Hao-sama.

Kitsune Asakura A fox with wings. Hmm I like..**pets Kitsune on the head** Such a NICE fox to review my humble story. Here's a cookie 4 you. Baked by Hao and Yoh themselves. (It tastes better than it looks ^__^;;)Thanx =)

Checkers I'll try my best! I just wanted to practice on my Japanese though.=D Hope you liked this chap!

takoyaki U think so? Yokata! I would love to read your stories. Hurry and post them quick!

Cessniper23 Ano I wish Hao could do that too **big creepy Hao smile** ^___^;; And thanx 4 the good luck. To tell you the truth, I had no idea on how to continue. Took me a while. ^__^;;

Stardustangel U'll never know until you try! I'll be waiting to read your SK fics! ^__^

mi-chan Yeah, the twins are sooo lovable! ^__^ I have an ending planned, it's just the middle part I'm worried about **sweatdrop** Hehehe.

Jessica Hao-chan's number? I don't have it. I suggest e-mailing him. ( Yohshouldkeephishairlong@sothathelookslikeme.com) Hahaha ^__~ China? I went there once. I wouldn't recommend doing that now though with SARS flying around. -__-;;

Digi Garden They're too short O.O;; Maa I guess so. People have been saying my chapters are too short for my other fics as well. I guess I never learn, hehehe. I'll try my best! And more details? Umm I do my best! ^__^

unpredictable.l Nice to know that you're still interested ^__^. Glad you're alive to review my fic 2! ^__^ Hehehe.

Quote of the day:::

****

Asakura Yoh, he says….

To win respect, friends, and shaman fights…..smile always and act like an idiot. ^___~

Make someone happy by clicking the blue button below and by leaving me your wonderful words of wisdom! ^___^ 

To make it short, REVIEW!!!!!! =P


	5. Just a notice my friends

To my wonderful Readers,

And especially my reviewers…….

**Ahem Ahem**

Well oh well,

No one reads my bio page, I can tell.

So I guess I'll have to say it here,

No, this is not a new chapter.

I really love you guys and gals,

For being patient, waiting and all.

So sadly '**I AM SO VERY** **SORRY**' I have to say,

I'll have to make you wait another day.

I **won't** be updating till **15th of June**,

Yes, I realize that's not very soon.

I'm taking my A-levels exams right now,

So I study everyday, slaving away like a cow.(Not really, though I should be.) 

Please don't scold

Please don't be mad

Because……..

*Calls in Arnold in a Terminator suit*

****

I'LL BE BACK!!

Hehehe. ^__^;;; (sweatdrops a lot)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Yoh: @___@ That was so, so…..

Hao: SO LAME….

Yoh: @___@ Yeah …

Hao: Let's go somewhere else Yoh. There are **LOTS OF OTHER MUCH BETTER FICS** out there. 

Yoh: Demo…

Hao: Look. If we wait for her any longer, you'd probably be raising grandkids with that fiancée of yours and I'll probably be dead and then I'll have to wait another 500 years to be reborn and then….

Yoh: Uhh…..

Hao: And then I'll have to…..and then you'll have to…..and…

Yoh: Umm…Just ignore him CF-san. So I guess we'll see ya!! Goodbye! Sayonara! *grins* ^___^

CF: Hey! I'm not really gone, as in 'dropped off the face of the earth' gone! I still read other fics and review them when I have the time!

Hao: Yeah whatever whatever…

CF: -__- ¤ *grrrr*

Yoh: Uhh…Ni-chan, I think you'd better be nicer to author.

Hao: And why should I?

(CF rushes off to type something)

The Spirit of Fire gets splashed on by all the world's fire brigade teams and is drowned in a very large lake. The lake is then opened as a hot spring and sauna resort where Anna makes big money off and becomes the richest woman in the world. After losing his main spirit, Hao is forced to clean off his debt of damaging public property and arson by scrubbing the dirty, smelly floors of the resort for the rest of his life.

Hao: @___@ Help me!!! Aaaaaaaa!!

Yoh: *****Sighs***** That's why…Never mess with a fanfic author. Especially one that's stressed out because of her exams.

CF: ^__^ Now that's taken care of. I have to say Bye Bye! Thanx for your patience. C U.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

^o^ HUGS and KISSES ^o^

~¤~Crimson Flame~¤~


	6. Chapter 5

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

Shaman King iz not mine. I only own the rest of the world! Muahahaha! Thank you Hao-chan!.. =P

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

__

….bla bla…. Is memories

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Chapter 5

__

The world was dark but it was safe. Safe and warm. Then the voices came. They were like whispers yet they echoed around him. An angry shout. And then a grave reply. 

"You!"

"Asakura, you disgust me. You would risk murdering an innocent child."

"It was in order to stop you!" 

"So it is for your own sake and honor."

"No!"

"To think that my descendants would turn out this way. It shames me all too greatly."

"There was no other choice!"

"There is always another way."

"There was not!"

"Foolish children! You act too much and you think too little! Who knows what else you would do. Who knows how far you would go. You do not deserve the child. That you do not."

All of a sudden, he felt a rush of air. Cold fluid filled his heavy lungs and froze his wet skin. How he hated it. He longed for the lost warmth. A shrill cry signaled his discomfort for his new world. One which is bright and strange. 

And then, he was saved. Strong arms lifted him and encircled his body in a soft embrace; soft and warm. It shielded him from the light and the world was dark again. 

"What are you doing? Leave the child alone!" came a desperate cry.

A warm smile. Then a voice answered, as gentle as the breeze caressing his skin.

"Yoh shall be with me. And forever he shall be."

Yoh's eyes snapped wide open. His breathing was labored and a bead of cold sweat trickled down the side of his face. The sheets on which he laid upon were wet with his perspiration. That voice in his head, it still resonated in his skull and sent a shiver down his spine. Who was it? Whose voice was it that was so strange yet so familiar to him? Was that a dream? A vision of the future? Or of the past? Yoh didn't know, and he wondered if he'd ever find out.

His head throbbed painfully as he tried to sit up. The pain seemed to lessen a fraction after he did. However his efforts were quite wasted when he was knocked back by something and he almost cursed out loud in frustration. Looking up he realized that that something was actually his main spirit. His sobbing main spirit.

"YOH-DONO!! SESSHA IS SO GLAD THAT YOH-DONO IS ALRIGHT!!" Amidamaru wailed loudly and hugged him.

"Amidamaru! Wha~?" Yoh said embarrassed and confused, looking around. 

White walls met his eyes and for the first time Yoh realized that he was in a hospital. How did he get here? Why was he here anyway? Yoh guessed it had something to do with his tremendous headache. 

"Am-"

"Yoh!" 

The startled shaman looked towards the doorway of the room. He recognized the voice, it was the tone that was unfamiliar. Anna stood there with a concerned look on her face, breathing hard and gasping for air. When she saw Yoh, apparently well except for a few bandages, she straightened her composure and left. Now, Yoh was ultimately confused.

"Yoh-kun!"

"Danna!"

"Manta? Ryuu?" 

Yoh spared them a glance. Manta and Ryuu looked terrible. Their clothes were disheveled like the kind that you've slept in and their eyes seemed dark and tired. 

"Um…Did I miss dinner?" Yoh asked nervously trying to lighten up the atmosphere.

"Dinner?!" Manta and Ryuu shouted together in disbelief.

Then they looked at each other and laughed tiredly. Nothing can be wrong in the world when it comes to Asakura Yoh it seems. They started to relax a bit; Manta took a chair next to his hospital bed and Ryuu sat down on the opposite side. 

Sighing, Ryuu handed him his pocket mirror and Yoh took it with a questioning look on his face.

"Just take a look." Ryuu said while gesturing his hand at him.

Yoh shrugged and looked into the mirror. He nearly dropped it in surprise. The boy that looked back at him had bandages that covered up his forehead and most of his head leaving a few hairs jutting out here and there. He had bruises on his cheek and a broken lip. A curved wound trailed inches from the bottom of his left eye ending next to his lips like the path a bloody tear.

"Woah~" was all Yoh could say.

"You missed a one way trip to heaven my friend. That's what you missed." Manta told him.

Yoh looked at his best friend, to his companion and then to his spirit. All of them sported forlorn faces as Manta began telling Yoh what happened the day before.

"Maa maa, I'm still alive, aren't I? Don't look so glum guys. It's gonna be ok. I'm a fast healer. I'll be alright sooner than you can say Shaman King." Yoh said trying to cheer them up after Manta finished with his story. 

"Shaman King."

Yoh glanced back at the doorway at that deep voice, and saw the familiar form of a certain Chinese shaman whom he had helped just weeks before. Tao Ren stood there with folded arms leaning against the doorframe, sporting a look on his face that is a mixture between surprise and relief; surprise because of how Yoh could have easily died and relief that he hadn't.

Yoh smiled and said. "Well, maybe not that fast." 

"Hnn….how can you be so careless, Yoh? I mean this is something I would expect of…"

"HORO HORO! HE HAS ARRIVED! AND HE HAS PRESENTS FOR THE VISIT!" came a sudden shout, which in Ren's opinion conveniently finished his sentence for him.

A blue-haired shaman came barging into the room, after announcing his own arrival, with a basket of oranges in his arms, panting loudly as if he'd just finished a 100-meter race. Horo Horo proceeded to knock Ren over when he hastily made his way towards the injured boy in bed. 

With the oranges swaying in his arms, Horo Horo began shaking a finger at Yoh as if to point out how stupid he had been. 

"YOU IDIOT! WHAT WERE YOU THINKING?! GOT NOTHING BETTER TO DO THAN KISSING TRUCKS FOR FUN?! YOU SCARED THE HELL OUT OF ALL OF US! YOU WERE THIS CLOSE TO FLOATING NEXT TO AMIDAMARU HERE!" Horo Horo shouted dramatically as he pinched his fingers together closely to stress his point.

"H-horo Horo, calm down…"Yoh said sweating nervously.

"CALM DOWN?! Y~"

No one knew or ever will know what Horo Horo was about to say because an angrily irritated Tao Ren knocked him unconscious with just one punch. 

"I wonder if Horo Horo needs to share a hospital room with me after this." Yoh wondered out aloud jokingly. 

"Nah, Pirika would come and nag at him in front of everyone." Manta said.

"Oni-chan! You got knocked out in a single blow? You need more training!" Ryuu puckered up his lips in a pout and pitched up his voice to try and imitate Pirika's expression.

"It'll be too embarrassing for him." Yoh agreed laughing.

"He'd never want to remember any of that at all." Ren added.

Yoh froze at that. A sharp pain entered his skull as the words echoed in his mind in a totally different voice. One which he thought he recognized.

__

"He'd never want to remember any of that at all."

(What? Ji-chan? What's happening to me?) Yoh thought confused amidst the ache in his head. 

The pain and confusion must have reached his face because Ren noticed it and gave him a curious look.

"What?" Ren asked.

"Nothing. It's just this weird feeling of déjà vu. " Yoh said hurriedly not wanting to worry his friends more than they already are.

Ren looked suspicious but said nothing.

"I'm sure that's all it is. After all this never happened before, right?" Manta said.

A silent pause.

"Right."

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Alright. Take deep breaths. Good."

Dr. Audrey Goh smiled at her patient as she set down her stethoscope on the table. The handsome young boy glanced back at her with beautiful black obsidian eyes and smiled sweetly in return. 

(Ah… That smile of his could warm the coldest of winters.) She thought not realizing that someone else had also thought of it once, a long time before.

Audrey was in charge of the boy ever since his friends brought him in battered and bloody into the emergency ward. An accident victim they said. She had worked hard to keep him alive. He had barely made it through. It would be nearly two weeks before he would make a full recovery, miraculously without any scars to prove his tragic encounter at all. During that time his friends visited him almost every single day. Audrey was glad she was able to save his life. Clearly he is most precious to those who know him. 

(And it's no surprise at all with that adorable personality.) Audrey thought as she smiled again.

"Well, Yoh-kun. You surprised me. Honestly I thought you would take at least a month to recover."

"I am a fast healer, Audrey-san." The boy replied politely.

"Yes, you are. Be that as it may, I am not supposed to discharge you this early."

"Please Audrey-san. You've already done that checkup on me earlier. You think I'm all healed, don't you?"

"Nothing seems to prove otherwise. But…"

"Then I'm fine. I don't even have a single visible scar on me. No need to keep me here any longer."

Audrey eyed the boy suspiciously. He sounded anxious to leave. Not that staying in the hospital is enjoyable, but he seemed like he needed to go somewhere.

Audrey sighed.

"I'm supposed to keep you here for a few more days for observation." She said sternly. 

"But!" The boy's face fell and Audrey bit her lip.

"But…I suppose you're right." Audrey added.

The effect was instantaneous. Yoh's face lit up like a Christmas tree and he jumped up and down happily.

"Yeah! I'm always right!" He said as Audrey signed his release papers.

"I wouldn't bet on it. You're wrong about not having a single visible scar on you." Audrey said playfully as she handed him the papers.

"Huh?" Yoh gave her a puzzled look.

"That's right. You have one right~~here!" 

The doctor reached out a hand and traced a finger to the left side of his head, behind his bangs, just above his ear. Perfectly hidden within his scalp.

"And a pretty nasty looking one too."

"Really?"

"You don't know?"

Yoh shook his head.

"Hmm, it's easy to miss it. I only found out because I had to stitch up that hard head of yours. Good workmanship I have to say. It's odd though that you don't remember getting it. You must have had a hard fall getting that prize."

Yoh didn't know what to think of what his doctor just said. 

"Thank you for everything Audrey-san. I owe you my life. In more ways than one." Yoh said bowing slightly.

"You're welcome Yoh-kun. You're welcome."

"Sayonara."

"Goodbye."

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Glossary:

Sessha = I (humble form)

Sayonara = Goodbye

Yup! I'm back!

Exams are over for me! Yippie!

Thanx 4 being patient and all. Hope I won't disappoint ya …(Oh the pressure@__@;;)

I guess you could say my writing style has changed a bit…...(I tend to do that after not writing 4 a long time.)

Arigatou gozaimasu!! I can't thank u people enough for reading thiz humble fic of mine. Sessha feels so unworthy of your kind and wonderful reviews…^__^

Sankyuus 2

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piti opacho, Kitsune Asakura, Jessica, winky golden, Ice-Phoenix, tone, Phoenix Charmer, Chibi Dragon, Kaymaith, Baka-cupid, mi-chan, Cessniper23, Stardustangel, unpredictable.l, Rings of Saturn, Anon, KISIEL, Chang Wumei, Goku-chan2002, Somebody, (@_@), boiya, Bratty, Ice-Phoenix, Goku-chan2002, Sugarfree, Chibi Dragon, Kage NoTenshi, Kitsune Asakura, Sweet Anime Fan, unpredictable.l, T.T , baka_cupid, sun, Kaori, Hao-sama rulze thew world, Haruka chan, Haruka chan. 

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Jenny //\/\// Thank you so much for the Hao pics ya sent me!! I luv them a lot! ^___^ And it's never an inconvenience. It's just that, I really sorry but I don't really understand your question…..Plz forgive me..=(…Perhaps if ya ask it again in another way….Or maybe this chap answered your question?….Thanx again for the pics…^___^

Quote of the day::

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Asakura Hao, he says 

Being a pyromaniac is a lot of fun but tormenting your little brother is much, much better!! o^___^o

As I write it, this is a brother fic. But if ya wanna see it as shounen-ai, by all means go ahead. I'm very open minded.

To make up for my absence, I have decided to try and update every 3 days. Keyword: **TRY**.

Jya ne!

~CF~


	7. Chapter 6

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

Shaman King iz not mine. I only own the rest of the world! Muahahaha! Thank you Hao-chan!.. =P

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

__

….bla bla…. Is memories

Dedication: 

To Jessica and Cessniper23 for help on the 'oversoul' principle. This chapter's battle is dedicated to you. I tried hard on it, I really did! (Hope it's not too bad)

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Chapter 6

Asakura Yoh absentmindedly fingered the line of his hidden scar. 

__

"You must have had a hard fall getting that prize."

The more he thought of it, the more he didn't want to. For one, a dull pain started in his chest whenever he did and for another, he only vaguely remembered something that had happened when he was young. He had had an accident, it had seemed, but only a minor one.

"You fell from a tree, my son." His mother had said. "Trying to get to the kite you were playing with that had gotten stuck in it."

"When you did, you hit your head on a rock nearby. You were lucky it's just a short fall and there were leaves to cushion it. That's why other than your memory loss and a few scratches, you weren't hurt at all. You just fainted when you hit your head." His father had added.

Yoh felt his eyebrows narrow together as he thought in frustration. For as it is, he could remember nothing more about falling and getting that scar. And if he did get it by falling off that tree, why would his parents not have told him? Were they afraid that he would be upset? Or had they simply forgotten? 

Another mystery to add to the world of Asakura Yoh and one which is not important enough to be worth the headache he's having now. His felt like his head was going to split into two. Literally.

But Yoh was lucky in a sense, because the pain was almost immediately replaced by another one.

"Téme! Stop daydreaming Yoh!" Anna growled after giving Yoh a knock on the head. "I don't care if you start jumping around singing or dancing, just focus! Do you think you can do that?"

"Oh right. Sorry." Yoh said quickly getting back to the task at hand.

The task at hand? You'd never guess. Catching butterflies. Yes, that's right. 

"It is an important part of your training." Anna had said. 

"It is an old method guaranteed to sharpen your accuracy and agility while testing your endurance. Passed down from one generation to another, it is an Asakura top secret training technique. Kino-sama didn't want to recommend it on you for reasons I don't know, but I think it would do you some good." 

(Sure, why not?) Yoh thought. (Let's go catch some butterflies. Gotta catch'em all!)

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Butterflies are evil.

Indeed they are demons in disguise. They flap their cute little wings and fly around looking innocent when actually, they do this to taunt you.

Yes. Yoh concluded. It is an undeniable fact. The little buggers are servants of the Devil himself. And at present they are torturing him. Horribly. 

Here he was, alone in a wide, open field surrounded by dense bushes on one side and a main path on the other. There are no trees and the sun had been merciless. Granted it was beginning to get cooler with the coming of dusk, Yoh was sweating like he had gone through the fires of Hell and back. His workout shirt was drenched as if he had been swimming instead of running around in circles, catching minions of evil. 

He was tired. 

He was hungry. 

He was only one short of these creatures of darkness. The training required him to capture at least 25 and after a few hours of running around Yoh managed to catch that much. He knew no warm meals would welcome him if he went back home with what he had now. Sure, Ryuu would have cooked something for him, but Anna would be guarding it like the lost treasure of Atlantis. 

Yoh growled out again when a beautiful red and black one flew past successfully avoiding his net. Yoh swore that it actually stuck out its long tongue at him when it escaped his net.

"I'll never get home like this!" Yoh cried.

The young shaman panted as he collapsed onto the grassy plain, out of exhaustion and out of frustration.

But as he lay there gazing at the darkening sky, he began to appreciate the meaning behind the seemingly ridiculous idea.

Butterflies are fragile creatures. If you apply force on it by even a fraction more, you would shatter its wings and therefore kill it. Yoh learnt this the first time he managed to catch one. He had been too rough. The butterfly was crushed by the sheer force of the net. Yoh believed this trained his ability to be accurate. To be able to judge where he should be, when he should be. He had therefore learnt from his previous mistake from the death of the first butterfly he caught. May its soul rest in peace.

But then again, they are servants of evil. So maybe not.

Butterflies as their names suggest, fly. And fly they do, out of reach, as soon as Yoh managed to get near. He had to flex his muscles and watch his speed to keep up with the butterflies' random flight patterns. It is here that his agility is tested. 

And as Yoh's heart began to slow down to it's normal beat, he could clearly see how this training tested his endurance.

Yoh laughed heartily to himself. He wouldn't admit it though. It may had been hard and tiring but it had also been the fun. Much more fun than the normal running he had been doing. He had actually lost track of time trying to catch the critters.

Asakuras come out with the strangest ways to do the simplest of things.

Whoever invented this method must be clever. And a little mischievous too.

"I wonder who thought this up." Yoh said to himself.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Achoo!" Asakura Hao suddenly sneezed. 

He looked around puzzled, and then shrugged.

"Someone must be talking about me." 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Yoh sighed as he laid on his back and closed his tired eyes. He thought of giving it up and camping out. There underneath the wide open sky he began to dream.

__

He was in a field. It looked almost completely different from the one he had been in. He looked down onto his hands, which were quite small and stubby like the ones of a child. He observed his surroundings with keen interest, trying to memorize the beautiful landscape. He saw the gigantic cherry tree and wide opening sky in the middle of a surrounding virgin forest. He smelled the fragrance of the blooming lilies and the fresh grass. He heard the song of birds and the running waters of a nearby stream. 

He started running when he saw a bright yellow butterfly fly past him. He tried hard as he jumped up as high as he could but it just flew higher and higher away from him.

Yoh gave one last jump which failed to catch the elusive insect, and his legs gave way as he fell down to the ground. Yoh burst into tears as the scratch on his knee stung. 

Then he realized that he was not alone like he was before. Someone was with him. Someone he knew well. Yoh felt his heart warm up all over as he turned to face this unknown person. But his eyes saw nothing but a blur. An outline of a person but nothing more. A mist that spoke as it held out a helping hand.

"Come on Yoh, you can do it! Try harder!"

"De~mo.. Me so tired… Can we do this tomowwow?" Yoh heard the voice come out of his mouth. He sounded so young.

"No Yoh. We have to finish this today. Come on, one more butterfly and we can go home."

"Pwomise?" He asked uncertainly looking at the ground.

Laughter at his insecurities.

"I never lied to you before, now have I?" 

"No…" 

A sigh.

"Yes, I promise. I'll even help you with the last one ok?" 

"Ok!" He smiled.

He put his hand in the other's open palm. It held him in a firm yet gentle grip.

And all is right in the world.

Yoh's eyes slowly opened to meet the starry night sky. A smile crept into his face as he sighed at the beauty. Somehow instead of feeling bothered by the strange dream, he felt content. He could not even think why.

Then he felt a shiver down his spine. At first he thought it was the chilly air of the night but somehow it was different. That was when Yoh knew, someone was watching him. 

A shaman. 

A shaman with strong furyoku.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Hao-sama! Hao-sama! Opacho has something to tell!"

The long-haired shaman looked up curiously from the parchment he was reading towards the short child running towards him.

"Hmm? What is it Opacho?" Hao looked at his little companion in amusement. 

"Hao-sama's 'tõto is in trouble."

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Kyouyama Anna stood up abruptly from her usual pose in front of the television.

"Okami. You felt it too. What is it?" Ryuu asked with wide eyes.

"Yoh." Came the reply.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"So you are the famous Asakura Yoh." 

The drowsy shaman stood up wearily and looked towards the source of the voice. Hidden in the shadows, behind one of the bushes was a solitary figure. 

"Hello? Who is there?" Yoh asked curiously.

Yoh watched as the shadow materialized, lit up by the moon's soft rays to reveal a boy who looked to be about his age. His face was grim and almost of anger as he stared at Yoh with cold emerald green eyes. He wore a green cloak which looked western and his hair, like his eyes and clothes, was green as well. If not for the tense atmosphere, Yoh would have laughed at how well camouflaged he seemed against the equally green bushes. 

As it was, Yoh merely looked expectantly at the other shaman for an answer. He was curious. It was against his nature to be suspicious.

The green eyed stranger took another step until he was in full view and answered,

"I am Lyserg Diethel of the X-Laws. "

"X-Laws?" Yoh asked puzzled. (Is that some kind of boy band or something?)

Lyserg ignored his question. "I am here to test your skills."

"Huh?" Yoh said intelligently.

Before the brown-haired shaman could mutter a single protest, Lyserg charged at him with great speed.

Yoh's eyes widened and his whole body became instantly alert. He managed to sidestep successfully avoiding a head-on collision with Lyserg. But he failed to realize the weapon the other shaman had strapped to his arm.

A shiny crystal pendulum whizzed by from behind and managed to lodge itself into his left leg. Yoh couldn't help but mutter a cry of surprise as a wave of pain washed all over him. He stumbled for a fraction of time as Lyserg pulled on the cable connecting to the pendulum and removed the sharp object from his leg.

Blood began to flow from his wound as Yoh immediately turned to face his opponent. He began to study the emerald-eyed boy's movement and expression in an effort to predict his next attack. Surprised yet again, Yoh found not a smug face but one which is expressionless and cold. Almost as if he wanted to get his task over with and not to gloat over victory. It made Yoh wonder if he was really just another one of those shamans who wanted to get rid of early competition like Yoh assumed he was.

But the injured boy did not have the time to ponder this longer. Without his main spirit to back him up, Yoh was at a serious disadvantage. Obviously Lyserg doesn't have this problem. His spirit must be inside the pendulum Yoh deducted. 

And all Yoh had for a weapon was a crummy little net. 

Then Yoh felt his mouth curl up into a smile when he realized that a net was perhaps all he needed.

The brown-haired shaman crouched low in a ready position, the pain in his leg already forgotten as he focused all his attention on the swinging pendulum hanging from the cable attached to the boy's right arm. There he stayed motionless, waiting for Lyserg's next move.

Lyserg acknowledge his challenge and raised his arm towards his adversary. 

"Morphin!" came a shout.

The pendulum seemed to glow brighter and shot out towards Yoh in a burst of speed. The cable trailed out in jagged lines behind it as the spirit maneuvered the pendulum like a finely tuned airplane right towards his face. 

Yoh maintained his position still. And when it looked as if the pendulum would hit, he jumped right out of the way at the very last second.

"Who knew catching butterflies would be so helpful?" Yoh said as he rolled to his left and avoided another attack.

Yoh felt that he was more agile than he was before. His timing was almost perfect and it looked as if he was dancing to an unheard rhythm. To him the pendulum was just another butterfly. Now instead of catching, he was evading. The crystal gave out a whizzing sound as it flew past his ear leaving a trail of burning pain. A few more inches and Yoh would have some difficulty listening to music later.

With the net in his hands, Yoh managed to dodge most of the attacks so far as he slowly made his way nearer to the other shaman. Lyserg looked puzzled and was not about to stand still for long.

As quickly as he could, Yoh held the net at a ready as the pendulum moved in and then. Success! Yoh caught a butterfly.

He jammed the sharp point of the crystal into the ground as he twisted his net to prevent the pendulum from escaping. With the weapon stuck to the ground, Lyserg was open to a direct assault. 

Or so he thought.

Yoh dashed top speed at Lyserg who was caught with surprise. He managed to land a hard blow to the green-eyed boy who staggered backwards after being thrown of balance by the blow.

Being hit seemed to anger the shaman a bit and his hand tightened at the cable as Yoh pulled back his fists for another punch. 

Too late had Yoh realized that the cable was part of the 'oversoul' as well. Even though he managed to avoid getting entangled in its snare, he was not fast enough to evade the sharp pain as it lashed at his arm. A crack was heard and his right arm fell uselessly to his side and he fell hard to the ground.

Yoh lay there huddled in a heap, exhausted and in pain. His couldn't feel his hand anymore and his leg was still bleeding as he gasped for air.

"Asakura Yoh. I am impressed. Even without your spirit, you were able to land a blow on me. Jeanne-sama was right about you."

Yoh merely looked up at the boy with a pained expression. 

"Join us. Join the X-Laws."

"What?" Yoh said incredulously. (First he beats him up, then he asks him to join his little group. The world is getting stranger by the day.) 

"Join us. Or die."

Lyserg Diethel looked very serious when he said those words.

"You must be joking." Yoh coughed out.

"Your decision."

"No."

A silent pause.

"So be it." 

Yoh looked at his foe's grim face and knew that Lyserg meant what he said. Painfully he gathered all his strength as he stood up and prepared to guard himself. If he was going to die, he won't be doing so without a fight.

"This one will be quick. You will feel no pain."

"Why do I feel so relieved?" 

Lyserg ignored the sarcastic remark and aimed his pendulum straight at the shaman's heart.

And away the crystal flew.

But it never reached its target.

Lyserg looked in horror as his pendulum burst into flames just inches from Yoh's heart.

"Morphin!" Lyserg shouted in panic.

The tiny fairy-like spirit managed to escape and flew to his side in an instant.

"How senseless of you boy." Came a dangerous voice from behind him.

Lyserg's eyes widened in recognition and his face sported an expression of pure hatred and anger as he turned to meet the person he despised most in the world. 

"Hao!"

Asakura Hao stood there with an expression almost equal to Lyserg's as he stared at him with piercing midnight eyes. 

They stood there facing each other motionlessly, without saying a word. Then Lyserg made a move to charge at Hao. At the same time, the grass in between them burst into flames creating a barrier between them. 

There behind its master, the Spirit of Fire stood in all its glory and it made Lyserg think twice about attacking.

"Leave. I do not have time to deal with your stupidity." Hao said with an edge in his voice.

Realizing that he was at greatly overpowered, Lyserg gritted his teeth in frustration as his hands curled up into shaking fists. He had no other choice than to retreat if he wanted to live another day.

"I'll get my revenge Hao. Just wait and see." 

"I look forward to it boy." 

Then he disappeared.

Hao watched the retreating figure into the darkness and slowly approached the figure lying on the grassy plain. Sometime in between him appearing and Lyserg leaving, Yoh had collapsed unconscious to the ground after his strength finally gave out.

Hao looked at the condition his brother was in and his heart, if he had one, nearly broke. Yoh looked terrible, his arm in an odd angle and his leg bleeding from a gaping wound. Not to mention the random slashes all over him.

Hao removed the cloak he usually wore and tore away a piece of it. He carefully bandaged up his brother's leg to stop the bleeding. He then moved to wrap the remaining cloth around Yoh when a shrill cry caught his attention.

"Yoh!"

Hao looked behind him to see a blond girl running up to him, followed closely by a much taller man in ridiculous clothing and a samurai spirit, Amidamaru he realized. He recognized the blond as Kyouyama Anna, a powerful Itako and future bride of Asakura Yoh from his routine checkups on his brother. The other man had the aura of furyoku. Another shaman.

He watched silently as Anna came up and saw the state Yoh was in. She looked at him with accusing eyes and shouted at him furiously.

"Who are you?! What have you done?!"

"I am no one. I have done nothing."

She stared at him in incredulity, obviously not believing what he had said.

"You did a bad job in training him Anna-san. If he were much stronger, this wouldn't have happened."

"He was unarmed! I don't think his strength had any to do with it." The other shaman protested. 

"I care not for what you think. Yoh needs to be stronger and he will not be, staying with you people. "

"What are you saying?" Anna said slowly, fearing his answer.

"I will personally see to his training." Hao said while adding softly to himself, "Like I have done so long ago."

Anna protested loudly and moved in to attack the person who had hurt her fiancée but as before a barrier of flames cut her off. Anna, Amidamaru and Ryuu could only watch as Hao bundled up his precious cargo gently.

And in a sudden burst of flame, both of them disappeared like spirits in the night.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Ok, this chap is where most of it is AU.

Everyone is still in Japan. 

Lyserg never met Yoh-tachi before. He had already joined the X-Laws and is one of its strong members. He still keeps Morphin as his main spirit as well as his Angel (I don't remember its name)

Well this certainly is my longest chap. It's a new record for me!

And it contains my first real battle scene. Hope I didn't mess up too much.

I seem to torture Yoh-kun a lot, don't I? (Runs away from angry Yoh fans)

Ano ne, sorry bout the butterfly crap..hehehe. It just came out of the blue…^__^

Wai~After two days of completely blank, ideas came pouring in. So I'm one day late! (Or is it two?)Forgive me? ^__~

Thank you sooooooooooooo much 4 reviewing!! **glomps everybody** 

Special thanx to those who wished me well in my exams. Hope yours will be too. ^__^

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KiraX105, Kitsune Asakura, Amethyst Bubble, winky golden, Jessica, AKIDA Yamakusa, piti opacho, Kaori, mi-chan, Hao-sama rulze thew world, angelic sinner

unpredictable.l~~Yes I have heard it. I went and downloaded the song when you recommended it. And it was creepy how it fits ;; Ne, if you wanna write a songfic on it, go ahead. I don't mind. You're not bothersome at all. Ask me a thousand times I'll tell ya the same a thousand and one times. Aah..Rurouni Kenshin, it's a classic. I love that anime. I've seen a bit recently. They're reairing it on TV. Why do ya ask? Did you see a connection? 

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Goku-chan2002~~My A-levels were so so. Hope yours is much better than mine. I'll try ta make the future chaps longer. (This one is.^__^ Hope that cheers you up)No promises though. ^__^

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Sweet Anime Fan~~Hmm..Yoh will remember Hao, but not anytime soon. =p

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tone~~Mou! You found out! I was abducted by aliens, and they told me an idea for a fanfic they had in mind. After finishing Aniki, I must write it for them. Kowaii;; 

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Quote of the day:

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Kyouyama Anna, she says

All play and no work, makes Yoh a lazy jerk. --__--*

Ps: Anyone interested in some theories about Hao and the whole Shaman King system, could visit this site www.geocities.com/yamakusa/SK/ and perhaps leave some comments.

That's all for now…

As always I'll try to update in three days

See you then,

~¤CrimsonFlame¤~


	8. Chapter 7

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

I wish I do but I know I don't. .

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

__

….bla bla…. Is memories

Wai~ I dedicate this chapter to SUGARFREE for drawing the most wonderful fanarts for 'Aniki'! 

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Chapter 7

The following morning, Anna sat down on her knees, opposite her teacher who had a grim expression on her age-old face. The journey to the main house had been a quick one, for Anna wanted to waste no time. Asakura Kino had both her elbows on the low table between them and her wrinkled hands were brought up together where her chin rested, and she sat there looking deep in thought as she listened to Anna describe what had happened the night before. 

The young sun shone brightly in the clear cerulean sky lighting up the ancient Asakura hall. An old Goban lay in one of its corners, filled with intricate patterns of black and white stones; the game now forgotten in favor of a far more pressing matter. The weight of the news Anna had brought with her was generating a heavy silence throughout its current occupants. 

The clan leader, Asakura Yohmei sat behind his wife with a down cast face. Behind Anna were Yoh's friends; Manta, Ryuu, Ren, and Horo Horo, all of them had insisted on coming along when they heard of Yoh's abduction. 

Anna finished her tale, and Kino sat quietly, her reaction was not one of surprise. Anna found this strange but had said nothing out of respect.

"So when you arrived, Yoh had already been badly injured. And this person who attacked my grandson..." The weary old woman said finally breaking the silence.

"He claimed to have nothing to do with it." Anna explained. "Do you think he is telling the truth?" 

"If he is who I think he is, then it would be highly unlikely that he was telling the truth." 

"Kino-sensei?"

"There is only one person in this world who can control the Spirit of Fire."

"What is the Spirit of Fire?!" Horo Horo blurted out.

Kino looked at the curious blue-haired boy who immediately blushed, embarrassed at his sudden outburst.

"Forgive my rudeness young man. In the light of this news, I seemed to have forgotten that Yoh's friends are present as well. The Spirit of Fire is a very special spirit, child. One that is 'born' from the Great Spirit itself. My student here would have recalled it from a book she studied, and had confirmed to me that the shaman who attacked Yoh, commanded this spirit." Kino explained to him.

"Then who is this shaman?" Ren asked.

"Why did he attack Yoh-kun?" Manta voiced out.

"Yeah. What does he want with danna?" Ryuu added gruffly.

At those questions, Kino straightened her composure and looked at them. When she gazed at the anxious expressions on the faces of her visitors, she sighed in defeat. Glancing behind her, she saw her silent husband nod in confirmation.

Looking back at the restless crowd before her, Kino took in a deep breath and began,

"His name is Asakura Hao." 

Kino fidgeted her black gold-rimmed glasses as she told her visitors everything about the notorious ancestor of the clan. Yohmei sat silent behind her as she told the tale of Hao's exceptional powers, of his dream of a world completely inhabited by shamans only and of his quest for the Great Spirit to aid in realizing that dream. Then, she continued on about the Asakura clan's efforts to stop Hao's evil plans, how they barely managed to defeat him.

"…Hao had been defeated but he waited a good 500 years to be reincarnated somewhere else but alas somehow his plans had been thwarted again. 

And so we come to his second reincarnation, 500 years later..."

"Baa-san. I'm sure we all appreciate the history lesson, but you still haven't answered any of our questions." Ren said trying not to sound bored.

"Young man, you have to learn some patience." Kino advised cheekily.

While Ren blushed an angry red at being told off like a child, the old woman continued,

"On the12th day of the fifth month of the year 1985, Asakura Hao had been reborn into the world. He is the grandson of the Asakura clan leader, son of Asakura Mikihisa and Keiko."

Kino glanced at her pupil. She knew that while her other audience were busy scratching their heads trying to figure out what she was saying, the pieces of the puzzle were beginning to come together in Anna's mind. Her student stared at her with disbelief and almost glared at her as if to dare Kino to confirm her suspicions.

"However, most of you will know him as the twin brother of Asakura Yoh." She finally said leaving no room for doubts.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

__

Yoh stared transfixed at the burning inferno that had been his home ever since he could remember. The flames looked beautiful as they randomly swayed, hungry for more things to burn. They were deadly yes, but still beautiful. The fire towered over him and he felt absolute fear for the first time in his young life. Even if it wasn't for himself.

He dropped his bag unceremoniously at the gates, causing all his crayons and colored papers to spill out of it. At the kindergarten, he had taken care to carefully pack the art he had drawn to show off to his parents. But as he rushed anxiously towards his blazing house, Yoh didn't care about it or anything else except to save his family.

"Mama! Papa! Ni~…aah.." Yoh's cries were cut short when he bumped into something and he stumbled onto the ground. 

He brushed off the dirt, stood up quickly and immediately resumed to run but he was held back. Strong hands gripped his arms and as Yoh looked at the stranger who was blocking his way. His face was hidden, as if covered in eternal darkness and Yoh had a feeling that he was the same person as the one before. 

Nevertheless, Yoh felt his worries disappeared as he exclaimed with relief. 

"You're safe! I was so scared! Are mama and papa ok?"

The stranger turned his gaze towards the flames and then glanced back at him. Yoh could make out the slight curve of his mouth. 

"W-why are you smiling?" Yoh asked slowly. (Why was he smiling?) Yoh thought nervously. After a pause, his heart began to beat faster. (Mama and Papa must be ok. That's why he's so happy.) Yoh concluded with tremendous relief.

"Mama and Papa are ok. Where are they? Why aren't they with you? They are ok, right?" Yoh asked happily.

This other person pursed his lips as his smile turned into a tightened line and he slowly began to shake his head.

Yoh felt his heart skip a beat. His own smile vanished, his mouth forming an 'o' as his eyes widened in disbelief. The feeling of dread returned and Yoh looked back at his burning home in horror. 

"Mama! Papa!" He cried out again with tears in his eyes, expecting his parents to miraculously emerge from the blaze unharmed.

"It's too late Yoh…They're gone…" His voice came and Yoh knew he was the same person as before.

"No! Mama! Papa! Don't leave us alone!" Yoh tried again unwilling to give up hope. He struggled to release himself from the person's grip, so that he could rescue his parents. 

"Yoh…" This figure held him tight. Yoh's struggles were useless.

"Iya da! Iya da!" Yoh shouted in denial-not realizing that he had reverted to his first language-as he broke down at last, his tears streaming down his face.

"Shh shh… Everything will be okay. I am here. I'll never leave you alone…" The stranger replied in the same language of which he was most comfortable in. 

Yoh felt himself let go. He stopped struggling and began sobbing uncontrollably in the other's arms. The one who held him just stood there not wanting to disturb him in his moment of grief. He felt gentle hands, calmly smoothing his back to soothe his sorrow. 

"I'll never leave you alone…" he repeated.

Those words he spoke, they comforted him then. But Yoh felt the old feelings mixed with a present hurt.

Liar.

__

Emotionally drained, Yoh sagged down to the floor still weeping, as the stranger's arms struggled to keep him steady. 

"Yoh…Yoh…Listen we have to go. Yoh..wake up..."

"Wake up…"

"Wake up…"

"Wake up…"

Asakura Yoh woke up. 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"However, most of you will know him as the twin brother of Asakura Yoh."

Her last sentence created a chain reaction among Yoh's friends.

The boy named Horo Horo stood up abruptly yelling "WHAT?!" successfully knocking over the tall odd-looking shaman with strange hairdo named Ryuu who had been sitting beside him. Ren, the Chinese boy who was sitting at Ryuu's other side, got knocked over by Ryuu in turn and was pinned under one of his elbows. Ryuu who was in shock, remained spread-eagled on the floor, as stiff as a board, trapping the boy. The short child, Manta tried to help his trapped friend but unfortunately wasn't making much progress. 

All in all, it was a circus and if the situation hadn't been grim, Kino would have laughed out loud. The noise was picking up as 'what' wasn't the only word that the ice shaman had uttered. Ren was shouting for Ryuu to lift his arms and Manta was breathing heavily out of exhaustion.

Only Anna remained as passive as ever, her face betraying no emotions. Her fingers silently gripped the hem of her black skirt as she suddenly shouted loudly,

"Quiet!"

And then like magic, the noise disappeared and Yoh's friends were in their original sitting positions again.

Kino looked at them in surprise.

"Please continue sensei." Anna then said softly.

The old woman felt as if her mouth opened automatically as she continued with the tale.

"From the moment of his birth, Hao had caused us nothing but grief. He had been powerful enough to command the Spirit of Fire even as an infant and he succeeded in injuring Yohmei and Mikihisa. Our son had a horrible burn to the face and the scars still remain. But the thing he had done that was most horrible, was to kidnap our grandson in front of our eyes."

Here Kino stopped and her head lowered down a fraction. Then, she continued on.

"For many years we lost track of the twins. We searched everywhere we thought Hao would be hiding but we came up with nothing. Then one day, five years after the night Hao and Yoh had vanished, we finally had a lucky break. Mikihisa noticed an article in an international magazine. In America, a large mansion had been mysteriously burnt to the ground. The owners, a rich couple along with two loyal servants perished in the fire, leaving behind two adopted twin sons as sole heirs to their properties. The police suspected foul play but was unable to obtain any suspects and could not confirm the source of the fire. The twins were ruled out as suspects because they were only five-year old children.

This came to us as such a perfect fit it was too much to be of mere coincidence. The fact that they were in America could be why we had no success in investigating their whereabouts-for we had focused our searches here in Japan. The couple had five-year old twins who had been adopted. The mansion had been totally destroyed by an unknown fire."

"We believe Hao lost his patience with the couple and also with them being only human, he had killed them. And when the two servants found out, he killed them too. Then he used the Spirit of Fire to burn the house to cover the murder. It was also convenient for him to inherit their money. Hao is merciless and would do anything if it benefits him. Such a thing doesn't surprise me anymore." Yohmei finally voiced out his thoughts.

"Nevertheless, because of this carelessness from Hao, we were able to conclude on their location. We immediately sent our clan's best shamans to retrieve Yoh from him and if possible destroy him too." Kino explained.

"Although we managed to rescue Yoh, Hao managed to escape." Yohmei said through gritted teeth.

At that, Ren gave a grunt and muttered a "Heh, coward."

All was silent for a while, and then Manta asked curiously, "Why hasn't Yoh-kun told us he had a twin brother? Wouldn't he have warned us about Hao when he's so dangerous? Even Anna-san didn't know about him."

"Unfortunately, during the battle with Hao, Yoh was seriously injured. He took a hard blow to his head. And even though he recovered nicely, he lost his memory." Kino explained.

A collective "WHAT?!" was heard.

"Yes. He lost all his memory till the time he woke up. And we told him nothing of Hao and kept it from him all these years."

"But why do that?"

"We didn't know how Yoh would react. Who knows what terrible things he had gone through when he was under Hao? So we left it up to fate. And as fate would have it, Yoh never spoke anything of ever remembering his five years with Hao." 

"Fate…" Anna voiced out her hands clenching.

Everyone looked at the blond Itako curiously. Up until then she had but muttered only a few words. 

"You still haven't answered Manta's or Ryuu's questions." Anna then stated.

"This guy wants to get rid of competition right? That's why he attacked Yoh." Horo Horo concluded before Kino could say anything.

Kino shook her head slowly. "True, Hao has been reborn. And yes he has joined the Shaman fight. But he attacked Yoh not to eliminate an opponent."

"Eh?" Horo Horo looked confused.

"Weren't you listening properly when Anna-san explained, Horo Horo-kun? She said that Hao said 'Yoh needs to be stronger' and 'I will personally see to his training'. He wouldn't have said those things if he merely wanted to get rid of competition." Manta said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"Keh." Horo Horo scoffed slightly at Manta, a bit embarrassed.

"As his twin, Yoh shared a number of Hao's powers. This makes Yoh potentially as powerful as Hao is. Like before, Hao took Yoh away from us to ensure no one would be able to stand in his way in the future. And with Yoh on his side he would have a powerful shaman-perhaps the most powerful after himself-to help him obtain the Great Spirit. Hao probably approached Yoh and told Yoh to join him. And when Yoh turned down his offer, they started fighting."

"Danna…" Ryuu looked like he was going to burst into tears. 

"Poor Yoh-kun." Manta sympathized.

"Ano Hao no yarou. When I meet him, I'm gonna kick his ass." Horo Horo said angrily.

"I hate people who use others for their own purpose." Ren uttered, suddenly reminded about being used by his own father.

Then suddenly a new voice sounded in the hall.

"Hao-sama is not like that! You people are liars! Opacho don't like liars. Opacho don't like you."

Everyone in the room turned towards the sudden outburst. A small brown-skinned child with bushy hair was shimmering like an apparition outside the hall. She had an angry look on her face as she hovered there a few inches off the ground. 

"A spirit?" Manta asked.

"No. She's a shaman. Somehow she has the ability to go out of her body for a while when she's in a trance. People call it 'Astral Projection'." Anna explained stoically. 

"I see." Manta took down his next research subject on his notepad.

"Hey you! You one of Hao's lackeys?" Horo Horo demanded to know. 

"Hmph..Opacho is not a lackey. Opacho is Hao-sama's friend. Opacho has a message for you bad liars. Hao-sama says not to come look for Yoh-sama. Yoh-sama will be returned to his stupid friends after one week."

"But we leave for America in three days!" Ryuu exclaimed.

"Hao-sama said he will take care of that. Yoh-sama will meet his stupid friends there."

"And why in the world should we believe 'Hao-sama'?" Ren asked sarcastically.

"Hao-sama is not like you! Hao-sama is not a liar! Opacho also thinks stupid friends cannot do anything anyway." 

Horo Horo lunged hastily at the image but caught only air as he slipped through it and fell to the ground with a mouthful of dirt.

"Heeheehee, bai bai Yoh-sama's stupid friends." She said giggling and then disappeared.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Yoh blinked. Then he closed his eyes as he reached up his fingers to rub his throbbing temples. His whole body felt sore and his cheeks felt damp. Was he crying? 

His head hung low as he sat up slowly, ignoring the protests of his aching muscles. His soft brown hair curtained his face as he stared down at the blankets thinking. 

Yoh was now very uncertain that he was reliving his past through his dreams or visions like he originally thought he was. The past that he had forgotten because of his accidents. In his dreams, his present consciousness was still with him. It was like acting in an old movie with no clue of the part you're supposed to play, yet acting it out perfectly. He had been aware of what was happening around him, yet he had no control over himself. He was the audience as well as the actor.

And these visions had many holes in it. Like the previous one. His parents aren't dead. And he doesn't know how to speak in English. And who was that stranger that was in every one of them. Yoh never got to see his face. He doesn't even know his name.

Sighing, Yoh wondered if these visions would change anything. Yoh wondered if he was going mad. Nevertheless, he'd better worry about that later. Now he had to get up and make breakfast for Anna. 

(Anna must have saved me from that kid. I'd better make something good to thank her.) Yoh thought yawning.

Then he realized something terrible. 

"Gyah~~Anna's training will be murder since I lost to that kid!" Yoh shouted out grievously. 

"Yoh?"

(That voice. I've heard it before.) Yoh thought, his eyes widening.

Slowly Yoh straightened his body and glanced to his right.

Asakura Yoh could only gape as his black-obsidian eyes stared into their midnight twins.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Hmm..not much action this chap. Just a lot of yapping.

Ok, Hao's past lives are the same as in the anime. And even that I'm not so sure. Feel free to correct me, but I guess I'll just leave it that way.

Sorry for being this late.--__--;; I fell sick. *Blames it on the weather* I was in no mood to write anything. =( 

Anyway, I do feel better now…^__^

Arigatou gozaimasu! Your wonderful reviews are greatly appreciated! They really brighten up my day!

Sankyuus to::: 

****

AnnaYoh, RuByMoOn, KiraX105, Amethyst Bubble, Goku-chan2002, Cessniper23, Hikaru, tone, Riku, Haruka chan, Hao-sama rulze the world, Hirame, somebody.

Ice-Phoenix:: My exams could have been easier if only I had studied more .;; Thanx 4 asking! ^__^

****

Kaori:: Hey, are u the same Kaori who joined the shaman twins yahoo group? Forget this if ur not…^__^;;

****

winky golden:: I'll cover that accident thing in my next chap I think. Anyway I'll try to explain it.

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Kitsune Asakura:: Thanx fer telling me the name. ^__^ Hmm..the training is an Asakura secret. I just assumed that Anna knows everything about the Asakuras. (Well except bout Hao, but I think I covered that this chap.^__^)

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Noreen:: Thanx fer telling me the name 2. ^__^ Now I'll just have to see if it's Zelel or Zoroel..Hmm sounds bout the same…

****

Sweet Anime Fan:: I haven't really planned yet when . I keep changing my mind.

****

Vx Tao Ren xV:: Long live Hao-sama! ^__^ Aiyai, sankyuu for telling me the name 2! 

****

Jenny:: Thanx again for sharing the pics with me! I really like them! ^__^

Question:

Is Kino an Itako like Anna?

Kino is Yohmei's wife, right? Do forgive me if I'm wrong.

If you wanna see the fanart Sugarfree-san drew (Sugarfree-san is a very talented artist, they're very nice ^__^), it's posted on the site below.

It's under the '**omake**' section, under the '**fans works**' heading. While your visiting, take a look around too. You might find something you like ^__~ (ne Wumei-san?)

**

**

==For some reason the link won't show up. You can reach it through my bio page.

Quote of the day:

****

Amidamaru, he says 

Serve your master well, but make sure to serve his fiancée better.

Oh yeah~Since I'm still a bit down, I don't think I can write very quickly. I'll try to post the next chap as soon as I can. Gomen nasai m-__-m *bows humbly to you wonderful people*

~Matta ne~

~¤Crimson Flame¤~

Ps: I wanted to upload this earlier but ff.net went baka…^__^;;


	9. Chapter 8

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

I'm running out of ways to tell you something you already know.

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

__

….bla bla…. Is memories

To BOIYA for helping to inspire me with doujinishi-therapy. ^^ Thank you so much.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

In my search for freedom, 

And peace of mind, 

I left the memories behind, 

Want to start a new life, 

But it seems to be rather absurd, 

When I know the truth, 

Is that I always think of you. 

-Someday-MLTR-

Chapter 8

Time slowly trickled by.

Obsidian onto midnight.

Hao gazed into his widened eyes. He knew those eyes reflected his very own and yet they held something in them. Something else that his lack. That hidden spark, he had found it fascinating but could not quite get a real hold on what it is. 

Asakura Yoh, he was his little brother, his only twin, his beloved son, his destined enemy. Yet the person before him, stared at him with the eyes of a stranger. Hao realized it then, realized that Yoh had not recognized him. 

A wave of despair washed over him for he had held great hope within him. Hope that Yoh would remember once he saw him. 

But then, perhaps it was too much to hope for.

His little brother looked at him with the puzzled face of someone who is curious and a bit confused. Not one of he who has remembered the years he had spent with his twin.

"Yo…" Yoh said uncertainly with a nervous grin on his face.

Hao blinked. 

"Yo…" he answered in return.

"Ano…are you…" Yoh slowly said with widening eyes.

Hao gaped at him in surprise. Could it be? Had he been wrong? Had Yoh really remembered him after all? He looked on as Yoh frowned in concentration, his fingers pinching his forehead.

"…the new housekeeper Anna had been thinking of getting?"

Hao nearly fell to the floor. Quickly recovering his composure, he shouted an exasperated "No!"

"…the TV repairman?"

"No!"

"…the 'Onsen' cleaner?"

"No!"

"…a door-to-door salesman?"

"No!"

"…the pizza delivery guy?"

"No!" 

"I know! You're my long lost twin!"

"N~~What?!!"

"Kidding kidding…hehe…I can't help saying that since I realized that you looked a lot like me. I could never be your twin brother." Yoh said and then laughed not knowing what his words had meant to the other boy.

"Oh…" Hao's once high hope, if it was possible, dropped a further thousand meters. Trying to keep a straight face, he choked out a strangled "I see."

Hao kept a blank face as he got up and he went into the adjacent bathroom, and shut the door with a loud slam.

All was silent for a moment. 

Yoh looked at the closed door of the bathroom in confusion. Slowly, wincing at the sore ache in his arm which was in a neatly tied sling, and the dull throb in his thigh, Yoh began limping in the direction of the boy who had suddenly left. 

Yoh knocked slightly on the closed door, worried if he had unintentionally offended the other boy.

There was no answer. Sighing, Yoh slid down with his back against the wall and sat on the cold marble floor. He could do nothing else but wait.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Hao peered angrily into the bathroom mirror. The boy who looked back at him had furious eyes that shone in frustration and clenched teeth that ground together in fury.

His hands gripped the sides of the sink below as he forced down the tears that threatened to surface. 

__

"I could never be your twin brother."

Yoh's voice taunted him in his mind.

He watched his own reflection blur as his eyes began to become misty at the edges. Not wanting to see his own helpless and fragile state, Hao shut his eyes tight and gave out pent-up growl. He was losing control of himself. He hated feeling this way. He hated not being in control, he even feared it.

He was Asakura Hao. Asakura Hao does not lose control. Asakura Hao is always strong. Asakura Hao does not need anyone. And Asakura Hao would never cry because of something somebody said.

Hao brought his head down onto the mirror, hard, shattering the glass with a loud crash.

His little brother apparently heard him and began knocking rapidly on the door, shouting words of worry.

But to Hao it was like a mere buzz in the background as he lifted his head and brought it down again onto the broken mirror repeatedly. 

"Ch'kuso! Ch'kuso! Ch'kuso!" He shouted out with each impact against the glass.

Each contact with the broken mirror sent agonizing vibrations throughout his head, numbing his thoughts and Hao welcomed the distraction with open arms. It was as if he was trying to beat his memories out of his mind.

(Damned memories. Shatter like the mirror.)

(The pain. It stings. It hurts.)

(But compared to the ache in my chest, it is nothing.)

(I do not want to remember. Let me forget. Let me forget.) 

(Damn you Yoh. I hate you for doing this to me.) 

(Why couldn't it have been me who had forgotten?) 

(I don't want this.)

(Damn it.)

"I don't want this." Hao muttered tiredly as he finally stopped, having drained himself of energy and let himself slide down to the floor that was covered with water, glass and blood. 

As he sat there silently brooding, the knocks on the door became more frantic and panicky. His tears still flow even as he smirked. 

(He probably thinks I've killed myself.) Hao thought. 

Losing his smile, he uttered a soft "Baka." as he hugged himself tighter with his head between his knees.

Then the knockings stopped and Hao briefly wondered if his little brother had given up and left him for dead. It was what he would have expected from anyone. 

All of the sudden there was a loud slam and the bathroom door literally came crashing down on his expectations with Yoh lying on top of it. Hao could only blink in surprise as Yoh slowly searched for him through the dust which had accompanied the crash.

"Hey you! Are you ok?!" Yoh shouted out frantically. 

"Go away. Leave me alone." Hao ordered, becoming angry all over again. 

"What in the world are you talking about?" Yoh answered to what he thought was an absurd demand.

Hao watched as Yoh clumsily stumbled through the broken glass. Yoh stopped suddenly, gaping as the dust finally settled and revealed Hao's disheveled state for him to see.

Hao didn't need a mirror to know he looked terrible and even frightening. His long wet hair hung down like a black veil covering his face. His pupils were pinpoints and his mouth was slightly open as he gasped silently for breath. Dark red blood ran down from his damaged scalp in a single river across his left eye, mingling with his salty tears. His overall appearance was like one of the spirits in one of those idiotic human horror-ghost movies that Opacho had dragged him to go watch.

"I said leave!" Hao thundered. He didn't want Yoh to see him like this, like a useless weak child. And when he gave orders, he expected them to be obeyed. 

"You idiot. What did you do? Your head is bleeding." Yoh said ignoring him and proceeded to examine his injury.

"LEAVE!!" Hao exploded furiously at Yoh. Even the most dimwitted of his followers would have wisely scurried away in a second.

But Asakura Yoh, his foolish little brother, he just blinked at him and did the most unexpected thing Hao could think of. 

Yoh's lips slowly curled up into a firm, but reassuring smile. 

Still smiling, he shook his head from side to side and he voiced out in a playful but clear tone. 

"Iya~~da."

In Hao's mind, the image of young Yoh overlapped with the present one.

And to Hao, that was when everything made sense.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Dõzo yoroshiku. My name is Asakura Yoh."

"I am Asakura Hao."

A short pause.

"Asakura?"

"Yes, I am from the clan too."

"Cool."

Silence.

"Ne, do I know you from somewhere?"

"Why do you say that?"

"I had been thinking. Your voice, I know I've heard it before. And your name is very familiar…"

"It doesn't matter... Not anymore."

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

(I've been so selfish. I've been thinking of myself all the time when what I should have done was think of my little brother's needs. I've been so busy thinking about the past Yoh when I should be worrying about the present one. That is it then. I won't care about the past anymore. It won't matter to me if he remembers me or not. It wouldn't change anything. What matters now is the present. I won't care if he'll hate me like those people would want him to. I will do my best to train him to be a great shaman and I will take care of my little brother in any way I can. Just like I promised, to Yoh and to Katherine.)

Hao finally allowed himself a true smile after that decision he made. He felt as if a huge burden had been lifted off his shoulders. He hadn't smiled like that since Yoh was taken from him. 

But then his smile turned into a frown as he grimaced in pain at Yoh's rough and clumsy handling.

Yoh was trying his best to bandage up Hao's bloody forehead. But considering the lack of help from his broken arm, he was having a hard time doing so with only one hand. 

Hao had wanted to do it himself but Yoh insisted on helping him. After all he was in his debt for rescuing him, Yoh had said. Hao gave up trying to convince his brother otherwise and just sat on one of the chairs in the room while Yoh fetched the first aid kit.

It was nice that Yoh was treating him for a change. Hao was usually the one who's doing most of the bandaging. Not just recently but also when they were young. Yoh was attracted to trouble like bees were attracted to honey.

However, he began to regret doing so as he howled in pain for the second time when Yoh dabbed too much iodine onto the deep gash on his forehead.

"Oops?"

Hao snatched the iodine away from his little brother lest he made his wound worse than it already was and handed the bandages to Yoh thinking it would do no harm. 

An hour later…

"I fhink I'll hafe tho feach youh shome bfasic healfing skhills firsh." Hao managed to say through a mouthful of bandages as he surveyed the room with only one eye while trying to desperately breathe through the thick bandages over his nostrils.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Now listen up Yoh. I am going to be your personal trainer for one whole week."

"You are? Did Anna arrange this?"

"Sort of."

"I don't believe you."

"Why?"

"She wouldn't have agreed to it."

"I offered my services free of charge."

"Okay then, I believe you."

"……"

"Truthfully, why are you doing this? Why do you want to help me? You're in the Shaman Fight too. We may be related but I am an opponent in the Shaman Fight, aren't I?"

"I made a promise I intend to keep."

"Oh."

Yoh didn't know what to make of that answer. But he felt that he could trust Hao. So he asked no more of it.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Yoh retired early to his room after been given a tour by Hao of the house. Hao said that it was an old mansion he had inherited and that it would currently serve as their training ground for the next three days before they would leave for America. 

Yoh lay in his bed thinking. 

Asakura Hao seemed like a nice person. For some unknown reason, Yoh felt that he could put his life in his hands and not worry about it at all. It seemed odd that being in the Shaman Fight himself that Hao would even want to help him become stronger. Even if he was a distant cousin. What was that about his promise? Yoh became more and more curious as time passed. And then there is that group of his that he mentioned.

"I have a group of people who follow me of their own free will. They are some of the best shamans from all over the world. Currently all of them are in America except for Opacho. And these people support me as the future Shaman King. Within these three days you will be trained to be as strong as they are and when we arrive in America, I would like to test you out among them."

Hao's group sounded like strong shamans. If they all think that Hao was the one who should be Shaman King, it made Yoh wonder how strong Hao exactly is. 

Nevertheless, to Yoh, it didn't matter.

"Just so you know, I am very grateful that you'd decided to help me. But I will not join your group." Yoh had said.

"Why not?" Hao asked in curiousity.

"Because I'm the one who's going to be Shaman King!"

"Hmm…is that so?" 

Hao had laughed at his declaration. It was not a mocking laugh but rather an amused one.

Yeah. Hao seemed nice enough. But Yoh wondered what he had done earlier that had made Hao hurt himself. He wanted to ask him about it but then thought that Hao would like to keep it to himself. So Yoh decided to keep quiet about the whole thing. Oddly though, he had the strangest feeling that he'd find out eventually.

When Hao had finished his tour, it was already sunset. They had dinner together with Opacho in the large dining hall. Yoh had been surprised that Opacho was just a young kid about 5 years old. Hao didn't look like the type that was good with children but apparently he was. 

Because from what Yoh had seen, Opacho simply adored the long-haired shaman. When they were introduced to each other, Opacho had been wary at first. She eyed him with suspicion while clinging onto Hao's leg defensively.

"Yoh better not hurt Opacho's Hao-sama."

"Now why would I do that?" Yoh teased giving her a sincere smile.

Opacho looked up at him with innocent wide eyes and then giggled gleefully.

"Yoh-sama is nice. Opacho likes Hao-sama's ot~~umph." 

Yoh looked at Hao in surprise when the other boy scooted down in a hurry and brought his hands up to cover the young girl's mouth, cutting her off. He then whispered something into Opacho's ear and got up again. 

Hao brought a finger to his lips and said "Shhh.." to Opacho. 

The young child nodded happily and imitated him. 

"What's that all about?" Yoh asked puzzled.

"Nothing! Nevermind Yoh-sama. Opacho likes Yoh-sama. We eat dinner now."

"Huh?"

"Come on Yoh-sama. Opacho cook dinner. Yoh-sama will like." 

"Okay, okay. Anyway, calling me Yoh will do."

"Nope nope nope. Opacho always calls people she likes like that." 

Yoh couldn't find any way to argue with the cute little kid and was therefore dragged to the dining room followed by his amused cousin who had kept silent throughout their conversation.

Dinner had been wonderful if you consider it been prepared by a five year old. Yoh hadn't the heart to leave his food unfinished so he piled them up onto Hao's plate when Opacho wasn't looking. Hao gave him an annoyed glare but managed to gulp down the meal. Opacho gave no signs of noticing that the food on Hao's plate had doubled while the one in Yoh's plate had vanished.

After the meal, Opacho excused herself and went off to do what little girls do while Hao showed Yoh to his room for the next three days.

"Tomorrow, your training starts. Make sure you are rested because you will need the energy later."

"Demo, my injuries haven't recovered yet." Yoh had said. His lazy side had subconsciously tried to find an excuse to delay training.

"Your body's training can wait. For now, your mind and soul is more important."

"Then I'd better get some rest." Yoh sighed in defeat.

"Make sure you do or you will regret it. What Anna-san has done so far for your training will be nothing compared to what I have in plan for you. You'd best prepare for the hardest week of your life."

Yoh pulled over the covers of his bed and sighed in dread. 

Anna has finally met her match as the person Yoh is most afraid of in his life.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

A totally Hao and Yoh chapter. ^^ (well… + a bit of Opacho anyway)

If you didn't catch what Hao had said, the line is "I think I'll have to teach you some basic healing skills first." ;;

Yes yes I know…Major OOC-ness. Gomen…heehee =P

Thank you to everyone who reviewed! And special thanx to those who confirmed for me, my questions.

Many thanx to:

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Kitsune Asakura, Goku-chan2002, mi-chan, RuByMoOn, Riku, piti opacho, Hao-sama rulze the world, Desert Star, Hirame, KiraX105, Mashou no Tenshi

Anime Girl ://: Yes yes, You got it correct! ^^ Is it really confusing? ;;

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Hikaru ://: Gyah~~Gomen gomen for my lateness…I'm beginning to run out of ideas. Thanx for the suggestion about making Yoh command the SOF. We must share the same mind coz I have already planned to make it so. It affects my ending a lot. Oops, shouldn't have said that ^^;; Shh..don't tell anybody. ^__~ But I don't think I'll make Yoh command the Spirit of WaterIt doesn't run well with my story… Ah~ yes, I do think Yoh is like the water now that you've mentioned it…Thanx again 

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Sweet Anime Fan ://: I'll be sure to thank sugarfree for you! And get well soon!

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baka_cupid ://: Eh~ itz my own fault for updating so slowly~ I'm just glad that you're still interested in reading thiz fic. ^^

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Amethyst Bubble ://: Gomen gomen for being so late desu!

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Kage NoTenshi ://: Oh dear tenshi-san I've written this twice already…This fic will NOT be shounen-ai. So don't worry if you're not into it..* I'm cool with fanart. I welcome them with open arms ^^

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AnnaYoh ://: Mochiron desu! I would love to review your fic! Hurry up and post it! ^^ Tell me when you do.

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winky golden ://: I make them up on my own! ^^ Glad you like them.

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Kaori ://: Wai~~hello there Kaori-san! I liked the drawings on the PBBS that you drew!

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Eriks ://: "Sometimes the world is full of unnoticed things, that we never give them a second chance to observe." Conan Doyle. Nice quote desu. I like quotes too. (See my bio page ^^;;) Nop, I've never played FF9. Only FF8. (And I still haven't finished it )

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Kary-Malfoy ://: Why what? @__@;;

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boiya ://: I see. Yeah, Sugarfree-san is the best! I love the drawings she made! Yup yup. I saw Yasha's translations of Hao's interview from the character book. Hehehe. I bet a fanfic is swimming in your mind right now bout the bride thing ^^ 

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unpredictable.l ://: Oh~um…Imagine they were enchanted butterflies then. ;; Uh~like I said it was crap that came out of nowhere. And I wanted it to be funny so…yeah…butterfly crap. 

Yeah. It's cool…go ahead and write the songfic. 

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unpredictable.l ://:How are you doing now? -__- Thanx! Yeah I'm proud. But I'm more grateful than proud. It's becoz of you reviewers that I got reviews right? ^^ Thanx for reviewing twice! 

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Phoenix Charmer ://: Thanx and your stories aren't crap desu ;; 

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Rings Of Saturn ://: Heehee. Sorry to burst your bubble. Yoh didn't remember Hao. But don't worry coz Hao-sama is a tough guy, he can handle it. I'll see what I can do bout the past thing. ^^

An ze question iz…Is Opacho a girl or a boy? 

Actually I thought Opacho is a boy. Then I read somewhere (I forgot where) that Opacho is a girl. So I don't really know now. Anyone has any proof that Opacho is a boy or a girl? Plz tell me. Anyway, this doesn't affect story so I'll just make Opacho a girl.

As an afternote, I would like to comment that Opacho may be some subspecies of shark. ^^;; (refer to manga 26) Hehehe…**just kidding**

Quote of the day:

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Tao Ren, he says

Three glasses of milk a day, keeps the scary-blond-necromancer-doctor away.

O' genki dashite!

~¤CF¤~


	10. Chapter 9

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

I don't own anything bla bla bla…

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

__

….bla bla…. Is memories

*…bla bla..* Is sound effect

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Chapter 9

Day 1

It had been a long time since Yoh had had a dreamless sleep. He gave a big yawn as he lifted his good arm up and stretched lazily. The morning birds began to sing as the first sign of daylight began to stream through the partially closed curtains of his room. The smell of the fresh morning air filled his lungs as he took in a deep breath and sighed happily. 

Pulling the covers nearly over his head, he began to slowly drift off into sleep again. The impatient shouts of "Yoh-sama! Yoh-sama! Get up! Now! Now!" were ignored and were mere murmurs in his sleepy ear. The bed was pure heaven, warm and soft, and Yoh wanted nothing else than to lie there for the whole day.

However unfortunately for him, someone had other plans that didn't involve lazing around in bed.

After a few hasty knocks on the door, the little bushy-haired shaman burst into the room and leapt onto Yoh's bed. There, Opacho jumped up and down, shaking the whole bed like an earthquake, making it impossible even for Yoh to ignore. 

"Get up! Hurry up! Now!"

Yoh winced at those words. "Opacho~Ten more minutes! Ten more minutes!" he protested, covering the blanket over his whole head.

"No!" the young girl said annoyed.

"Opacho~please?" the shaman begged.

"Hao-sama will be angry with Yoh-sama." Opacho warned.

"Mhmmm…"Yoh mumbled out from under the covers.

"Don't say Opacho no warn Yoh-sama." 

"Zzzzzz…"

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Yoh ran down the steps towards the dining hall in a hurry. He grinned happily as he rounded a corner and into the hall. 

When he approached the table in the middle of the room, he saw a plate on top of which were several pieces of toast and also some sandwiches.

Hao was sitting at the head of the table, sipping quietly on his glass of milk while reading the newspaper. On his right, Opacho was munching noisily on a cookie obviously enjoying it.

"O-hayo!" Yoh greeted. 

At his sudden greeting, Hao looked up from the newspaper in front of him and stared boredly at Yoh. Opacho paused her bite into the cookie and looked at him too.

"O-hwawo!" Opacho smiled through her mouthful of cookies.

"O-hayo." Hao said returning his gaze to the morning paper.

Yoh approached the table and sat down on Hao's left, opposite Opacho.

"Uh..sorry I'm late." Yoh said apologetically, scratching the back of his head.

Opacho gasped as she suddenly remembered his tardiness and her eyes widened uneasily. Slowly she averted her gaze towards Hao with a tremble. 

Hao looked up again at Yoh and put one of his elbows onto the table, his head resting on his palm. 

Yoh gulped and waited for him to announce his punishment. Hao's thoughtful expression made him very nervous and Opacho's earlier warning came to his mind. 

A moment or two went by and Yoh began to sweat despite the fairly cool morning air. 

"It's alright." Hao suddenly said giving him a big smile.

(Whew.) Yoh sighed in relief. 

As he blissfully ate a piece of toast, he was unaware that Opacho was giving him a look that simply said,

'You're doomed'.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Since your arm is not yet completely healed, I shall first test and train your shamanic abilities. And~" 

*Thwack!*

Hao gritted his teeth as he slapped his palm on the back of his twin's head in annoyance. The boy had been daydreaming all morning and they haven't even started anything. He now had a new earned respect for the blond-haired Itako. If Yoh had been one of his men then Hao would have killed the lazy bloke within a minute.

"Itai yo!" Yoh protested scratching the back of his head painfully. 

"Then listen when I give you instructions." Hao said with a dangerous tone in his voice.

"Hai!" Yoh squeaked.

"To your right is a path to a river." Hao said lifting his arm slowly. His fingers point to a clearing in the forest. "There, there are many stones. You are to collect ten stones of the **exact** same weight and bring them to me."

Yoh gave him a puzzled look. This was almost as weird as catching butterflies. Hao handed him a black bag and nothing else. 

"Aren't you forgetting a scale or something like that?" Yoh said grinning at him.

"Use only what you have with you." Hao told him.

Yoh let his jaw drop. "But how am I suppose to know the weight?" he whined. 

"That's for you to find out. Now get going. If you do not finish your task by lunch time then you shall have to fast till dinner."

"But."

"Yes?" Hao asked giving him a glare while smiling a sinister smile.

"Ehehe. Nothing nothing." Yoh said waving his good hand in front of him. 

"Itte kimasu." Yoh then said resigned with drooped shoulders and warily stepped towards the path.

"Hai, itte irasshai." 

Hao greeted in return and turned to go back to the mansion when he saw their bushy-haired companion come stumbling down the steps towards the garden they were at.

"Hao-sama! Hao-sama! Opacho come to help!" 

"Oh yes, I had almost forgotten. Yoh!" 

The grumbling shaman almost stumbled in his steps when Hao suddenly called him. Yoh stopped and glanced back in surprise. 

"Since this is your first training task, I've decided to let Opacho assist you."

"Really? That's great!" Yoh said happily.

Hao knelt down on one knee in front of the young girl so that he is at eye level with the child. 

"Opacho. You are to watch Yoh at all times. Make sure that he does not even touch the stones he is to collect. Do not do anything else to help Yoh, ok?" He explained.

"WHAT??!! What kind of help is that?" Yoh shouted in protest. Not only does he have to collect stones of the same weight without any scales, he has to do it without even touching them? That is impossible. 

"Hai! Hao-sama!" Opacho saluted and dragged a stoned Yoh towards the river.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Errgggghhh! I can't do this right!! Waahh~~~!!" Yoh wailed out with tears running down like twin waterfalls and a runny nose.

Opacho sweatdropped at the sight of the frustrated shaman. 

"Yoh-sama…"

"Opacho! You know how I can do this right right? Tell me!" 

"Wah~Yoh-sama! Let Opacho go! Opacho get dizzy!" 

"Oops. Sorry Opacho." Yoh apologized and stopped trying to shake the information out of the poor kid. 

Yoh gave out a defeated sigh as he sat down on the grassy patch close to the river's edge. Around him were hundreds of stones with different colors and sizes. The odd thing is that all of them were smooth and oval shaped. The river that runs through is crystal clear and Yoh could see a few tiny fishes swimming about. Yoh pulled his legs together to his chest and rested his chin on his knees sighing heavily again.

"Opacho think that Yoh-sama should think more." The little girl said sitting down beside him.

"Ugh..I can't think anymore. I've tried using a branch or two to lift the stones. I've tried slipping the bag under the rocks to pick them up. That might work but I still have the problem of knowing the weight. The best I can do is to estimate it but Hao wants the exact weight."

"These ten stones are the best I can come up with." Yoh added picking up the bag.

"Yoh-sama no think like good shaman. Opacho's Hao-sama can do it correct in a minute." Opacho said proudly.

"Liar." Yoh said wide-eyed in amazement. 

"Opacho tell the truth. Hao-sama is best shaman in the world." Opacho said without hesitation and with admiration in her eyes.

"That's right. I am the best shaman in the world." 

Opacho glanced back towards the new voice to see her most favorite person. Hao was standing behind them with a basketful of food. 

"Hao-sama!"

Opacho jumped up in an instant and hugged the long-haired boy as he sat down under a shady tree behind them and began taking out some food from the basket. He placed them on a sheet he had spread on the ground.

"I brought lunch." Hao stated. "Have you completed your task?" He then asked turning to Yoh.

"Yeah I did!" the shaman answered happily handing the bag of stones to Hao.

Yoh sat down and rub his palms together in anticipation. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Hao disturbing the contents of the black rucksack-like bag by slightly shaking it. Then, Yoh could have sworn he saw the bag glow for a moment. He could even swear that he heard soft giggles coming from the bag. He blinked and then the light was gone and he could not hear anything.

Shrugging, Yoh dug into the food and gave out a loud "Itadakimasu!" 

He proceeded to take a big bite out of the loaf of bread, only to bite down into something else.

Hao had taken off one of his shoes and had conveniently shoved it into his mouth. Yoh spluttered and spit out the leather mouthful in a hurry.

"Blech…Why did you do that?" Yoh said disgustedly. 

"Didn't I say no lunch if you don't complete my task in time?" Hao said boredly as if explaining to a child. 

"But I did what you asked." Yoh defended himself.

"No you only managed half of it. In this bag there are three stones of a same weight, four of another, and three of a different weight. I must say I am impressed that you managed to do this by estimation alone. You've got what it takes to be a good grocer if you fail to be a shaman." Hao taunted as he laughed out loud.

"That's not funny Hao." Yoh said almost sulkily throwing his boot back at him. "And how would you know anyway? You just jingled the bag. You didn't even use a scale to check." 

"I have my ways. Now you better start thinking on how to complete your task. Or you'll miss dinner too." Hao said casually biting into some juicy-looking grapes tempting him.

*Shock* "This must be a nightmare." Yoh muttered to himself. His stomach growled in agreement. 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Two hours later…

"ZzzZzzZZZzzzZZ…"

Yoh had fallen asleep while thinking.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

__

"……and then there was going to be a war. The emperor ordered all able-bodied men to enlist into the army even though there was little chance that they could win. But there was one man who had an accident and broke one of his legs earlier that day before the order was announced."

"Broke his leg? Owie…that's bad." Yoh said.

"Yes it's bad. But it's also good."

"Good?" 

"Because he had a broken leg, he need not enlist into the army."

"Oh! Then he no need to fight? He no need to get hurt?" Yoh felt relief for the man.

"Yes, that's right. If you view things at a different angle, problems can become problem solvers."

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

__

"If you view things at a different angle, problems can become problem solvers."

Yoh woke up with a start as the words echoed in his head. 

"Gyah~I've been so stupid!" Yoh shouted out smiling. He quickly rushed to the riverside clutching the now empty bag while Opacho who had been playing nearby approached him with curiousity.

Yoh grinned. He had it all figured out. Hao and Opacho had given him clues that he had not noticed earlier. 

__

"Use only what you have with you."

(What I have are my shaman powers. Hao wasn't talking about the bag.)

__

"Yoh-sama no think like good shaman."

(I haven't even thought of using my powers.)

__

"Make sure that he does not even touch the stones he is to collect."

(I've been thinking of it as a handicap-something that will make it harder for me to complete the task.)

__

"If you view things at a different angle, problems can become problem solvers."

(But it wasn't a handicap-it had been a clue. If I used my powers, I wouldn't even need to touch the stones.)

And the glowing and giggling bag hadn't been his imagination.

Yoh stood still his legs dipping into the cooling waters. Silently, he focused on summoning the spirits of the stones. 

Brownish circles of light filled the air along with tiny giggles. The tiny spirits of the stones floated in the air gently swaying in the light breeze. 

{Hello.} A spirit nearby greeted.

"Yo!" Yoh said smiling and immediately began his survey of the stones' weight.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Uh…sorry. You're too heavy."

*Thud!*

Yoh was knocked on in the head by the stone he had rejected. 

{I'm not overweight!} The spirit shouted angrily and plopped into the river with a tiny splash.

Yoh looked at the other spirits in a daze.

{Don't mind her. She's sensitive. Thinks she's fat.} A spirit shrugged.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

By the time Yoh picked out ten stones of the same weight and asked them into the bag, he was exhausted from leaking out the furyouku to maintain the summoning but he was happy.

At least he won't be missing dinner.

His stomach growled again in agreement.

"Yay! Yoh-sama did it!" Opacho cheered happily.

"Yeah I did." Yoh grinned in return.

"Hmm, took you long enough." Hao sneered.

"Well, sorry for being slow." Yoh muttered handing the bag to Hao for inspection.

Hao laughed at Yoh's annoyed face and held the bag loosely on his two hands. A bright light shone immediately.

"You see Yoh, if you view things at a different angle, problems can become problem solvers." He said as brownish light emerged from the bag and danced around him.

"Yeah…" Yoh looked in awe as Hao summoned the spirits effortlessly. He wasn't even breaking a sweat when they fluttered around him giggling and playing.

"Wait a minute. What did you just say?"

"What did I say?"

"That thing bout problems?"

"Forget it. Come on. Your turn to prepare dinner."

"Oh okay." Yoh said shrugging at the change of subject.

There was silence between them when they walked side by side towards the mansion.

"You did okay today kid." Hao said ruffling Yoh's hair in a brotherly way.

"Kid? Who are you calling a kid? You're the same age as me! Aren't you?" Yoh was getting really annoyed at Hao. 

He'd been annoyed a lot lately. Which was kind of strange because Yoh rarely got annoyed at anyone. He had always been able to shrug it off with a smile or a goofy laugh. Was he changing? Or was he acting the way he was originally?

Hao blinked at him and answered smugly.

"Yes and no."

"Huh? You're so weird." Yoh stated scowling. 

Hao laughed at him again. 

"Sankyuu na." Yoh said suddenly, giving him a sincere smile.

It stopped Hao mid-laugh.

And earned him a mirror of his happy grin.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

During dinner, Hao explained the purpose of his training. Yoh found himself paying attention for once.

"While the ability to summon spirits from natural objects is very useful, almost all shamans don't pay much attention to it because it takes a lot of time and effort to summon spirits. Leaf and stone spirits may be easy to summon but it's another thing all together with higher level object spirits. To add to that, controlling them would be problematic most of the time. And to maintain their summoning requires furyouku. But to know the technique, your furyouku level will increase greatly as you increase the number of objects you are able to summon a spirit from.

There are five basic spirits that you should be able to summon- grass(leaf), earth(stone), wood, water and fire. 

Different objects have different spirits to call upon. The spirits of the leaves may be of the easiest to summon because they are very friendly and would almost always help out the shaman who calls upon them. 

The spirits you've tried to summon-the spirits of the stones- are fairly easy and they are quite truthful creatures. So you should have had no problems getting their weights. 

Wood spirits are a bit trickier as they are quite wise but a little stingy in sharing their knowledge. But if they think that you are worthy of that information they will tell it to you.

Water spirits are quite hard to summon because they prefer to go undisturbed and wouldn't want to be bothered with you. But once you do, they are comparatively easier to control and are good for defence.

Spirits of the fires are cunning and are one of the hardest to control. Summoning them is no easy feat either. But they have the most power of the five and are good for attacks.

These spirits are relatively small and cause less damage then your average Mochirei-main spirit. That's why most shamans just ignore this part of their powers. But as I said, it can help a lot to increase your furyouku level."

"Tomorrow, do not come late to breakfast. You will regret it." Hao added as a warning.

"We shall see if you've got what it takes to complete summoning the five basic spirits. And then some."

"O-okay." Yoh muttered tiredly. He hoped that tomorrow wouldn't be as tiring as today was. If things continue on as they were, he wouldn't be able to last the week.

"And Yoh…" Hao said.

"Y-yeah?" (What now?)

"Opacho is a better cook than you."

Yoh fell out of his seat.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

That night…

Just as Yoh was drifting off to sleep, he felt something hairy crawl up the side of his arm. Sleepily, he turned on the sidelamp to find out what it was and,

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!" 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

(This is what you get for being late this morning.)

Hao grinned evilly. 

Punishments are always the sweetest part of training.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

I am very **very **sorry about the late update. Much iz happening in me life right now. Jobs and studies and everything…which really makes me feel so tired…which also makes me lazy…which is why it's been a long time…

At one point, I lost inspiration all together to continue this fic. *Did I hear some cheers?* I wonder if anyone is still interested in reading .

Really I don't mind flames. Feel free to scold me for being so bad and making you all wait. It'd pressure me to write more.

Many million thanx to those who reviewed.

Arigatou to:

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Desert Star, Amethyst Bubble, KiraX105, tone, Goku-chan2002, RuByMoOn, Reius Devirix, Mashou no Tenshi, Riku, Rings of Saturn, Loppy-Chan, piti opacho, **mikaii,** **Phoenix Charmer, Silver,** **Anime Girl, Kaori, Kitsune Asakura, Hikaru, Cerridwen Aerin Ellorin, Shinigami Neko, Sweet Anime Fan, Miko-chan, Hirame, winky golden, Eriks, Ann1990**

Sorry if I missed out anyone.

Quote of the day:

****

Lyserg Diethel, he says

Die Hao! (repeat for a hundred times)

Honto ni ureshii na,

~¤~CrImSOnflAmE~¤~


	11. Chapter 10

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

I'm amazed that you still read this when you already know what I'm going to say. I don't own SK okay…

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

__

….bla bla…. Is memories

*…bla bla..* Is sound effect

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Chapter 10

Day 2

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*Riiiing Riiing*

"Lunch break!"

Yoh stumbled out on short stubby legs as he rushed to exit the room. Their teacher, a nice middle-aged lady, smiled as the sea of children spilled out from the homeroom into the narrow corridor. Each one was carrying their own lunch boxes, eager for a quick meal and longer playtime at the kindergarten's mini playground.

Yoh suddenly paused at the doorway and looked back into the room, which was empty except for another boy. Yoh was annoyed. He always took his time and made him wait. Yoh hurried back towards the boy and pulled at his arms. 

"Wai~Hurry! Hurry!" Yoh shouted excitedly as the other boy arranged his books into a neat pile.

Yoh was practically jumping up and down when the long-haired boy brought out two bento boxes-their lunch-from under his desk and Yoh wasted no time.

The excited boy pulled at the other's arm again and proceeded to drag the poor kid towards the exit. The long-haired boy stumbled clumsily bumping at the desks and chairs of the classroom while trying not to drop their lunch.

Yoh loved break time. Because it meant that he needn't think a lot. And he could relax all the time.

Yoh sat down at the steps leading to the playground. The long-haired boy sat down beside him. He then opened the boxes and offered him the food of which Yoh quickly wolfed down.

Together they sat there watching the other kids play on the slides and see saws. 

Yoh didn't know why, but the other kids wouldn't play with them. It made him really sad. 

But it was quite alright. Because of this person who was with him, he didn't feel so lonely.

That day was like most every other day. But the difference was, four boys came up to them during playtime and asked them both to join in their game.

Yoh was nervous but he was very happy to be invited. He accepted their offer eagerly and immediately followed them. The boy who was with him was a bit hesitant but he trailed after Yoh anyway.

The four other kids led them to a relatively quiet and shady corner and then suddenly one of them hit Yoh's companion hard in the face. Yoh could only look in shock as two of the kids joined in hitting his friend who had fallen onto the ground. The remaining one held him at bay covering up his mouth.

"What's wrong Seth? Teacher's precious little pet can't fight back?" one of the boys taunted in a singsong voice. 

Yoh knew Seth had been in trouble before. He'd beat up other kids who'd tried these things. But Yoh didn't think that he should hurt those kids. He remembered making him promise not to fight with other kids anymore.

Yoh was scared. He didn't know what to do. The boys kept hitting his friend. Seth was defending himself on the ground but not relenting to their hits. 

"I've got better things to do than to deal with pathetic jealous human children." Seth replied in an almost bored tone.

His defiance and lack of fear angers the boys more and they began to hit harder. 

"We are not jealous! We are just as smart as you are! Teacher just likes you because your mommy and daddy are rich."

Yoh couldn't take it anymore. He struggled harder and managed to free himself from his captor's grip. He tried to push the kids away from Seth, which was easier said than done because the boys were a lot bigger than he was.

"Leave him alone you big bullies!" Yoh shouted out at them. 

"You wanna fight too, Sean?" the kid who had been holding him said smirking. He is the leader of these bullies.

(Sean? Who's Sean?)

He raised a single hand and in a split moment it contacted with Yoh's cheek. Really hard. It hurt a lot and a trickle of blood flowed from his mouth. He must have accidentally bitten his tongue.

"Sean!" 

"Why are you hurting us?" Yoh cried, rubbing the sore spot on his face.

"Because you're weird. You are not normal. Weirdo. Weirdo. Weirdo." He chants.

The leader raises his hand for another strike and Yoh brought his arms up to defend himself. 

Only to find himself back in his room at the break of dawn.

__

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Yoh managed to get to breakfast in time for once. After that episode with the ten gigantic spiders on his bed-which he just knew Hao had something to do with-he didn't want to take any chances. A chill went up his spine as he unwittingly remembered the night before. How did Hao know he was terrified of spiders?

They ate breakfast in almost total silence. Hao raised an eyebrow at Yoh's lack of noise but didn't comment on it. Yoh didn't feel much like talking then because of his dream.

It was the most vivid one yet. Perhaps it had to do with his increase in furyouku. Yoh had no idea why, but that dream had triggered something. Something he had pushed to the corners of his mind.

It could possibly be his first memory yet. He remembered when he was young, he had woken up one day with no memory of who he was, what he had done, where he had been.

And he remembered his parents saying that he had been kidnapped when he was a baby.

__

"Years ago, you were taken from us when you were a mere baby by an evil man. We spent those few years searching for you. Then at last, we were granted a chance to save you and we did. A week ago, the whole Asakura clan gathered and fought the evil man to bring you back to us. And we succeeded. But you were seriously injured from the battle and it took you this long to recover. Unfortunately the evil man got away."

And then there was another thing his parents had said,

__

"You fell from a tree, my son." His mother had said. "Trying to get to the kite you were playing with that had gotten stuck in it."

"When you did, you hit your head on a rock nearby. You were lucky it's just a short fall and there were leaves to cushion it. That's why other than your memory loss and a few scratches, you weren't hurt at all. You just fainted when you hit your head." His father had added.

Assuming that in the first place he had lost his memories then. That would mean that his parents had lied to him. Perhaps they thought that he had been delirious and unwary then. They thought that he would not remember it. But how could he have forgotten. 

Could it be that he had been kidnapped and been brought up in a foreign land? He'd heard of stuff like that in the news. Where newborns are kidnapped and sold off to families who want children. It would explain his ability to speak in English in the past dream. Then that would mean, the dreams he had been having, could have indeed be his forgotten memories.

Yoh never pushed his family for the answers to his past before. Now he wished he did. It's just too confusing for him.

"Yoh-sama! Yoh-sama!"

"Huh?" Yoh murmured. 

Then he realized that the milk that he was pouring into his glass was no longer in his glass. The milk flowed in a continuous stream from the glass to the table to his shirt and pants.

Hao muttered a "Baka" and continued reading his newspaper.

"Gyah~!" Yoh shouted, snapping out of his daze. He got up in a hurry and tried to wipe his shorts clean frantically.

*gasp* 

Yoh looked up to see Opacho gaze in Hao's direction and say an "Oh..oou."

Horrified at what he might see, Yoh slowly forced himself to look at the head of the table.

The plastic pitcher that he had been holding had flown right out on his hands and landed perfectly overturned on Hao's beautiful, dark, silky, velvety and highly-conditioned reddish brown hair. 

And the pitcher had **not** been empty.

Hao's face was downcast and Yoh could not see his expression behind the veil of dark hair which was now streaked with white. He heard the sound of grinding teeth and he swore he heard a vein pop somewhere.

"Y-----OOOOHHHH!!!!!" Hao thundered and the whole hall seemed to shake. 

Smiling sinisterly, Hao raised both of his shaking and clenched up fists to his chest. When he began to laugh dangerously, Yoh backed away nervously and began looking for the nearest exit.

Yoh's eyes bulged when he saw Hao open the palms of his hand and in them grew twin tiny sparks. The sparks grew into fireballs, which were burning brighter and getting bigger.

Hao raised his arm in a throwing pose.

Yoh did what any normal person would do in this situation. 

He ran away screaming.

"Gyah~I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" He apologized repeatedly when he managed to dodge the fireballs. Just barely.

"Burn in hell!" Hao cackled as he threw more fireballs his way.

"They say milk is good for your hair!" 

"Die!"

"Waaaah!! Opacho! Save me!" 

"Yoh-sama no baka." Opacho could only say in sympathy.

"Muahahahahahaha!!!!!"

"Waaaaaaaaa!!!!"

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Yoh rubbed his slightly singed cheek compliments of Hao's fireball. He looked as if he'd been through the fires of hell and back. Which wasn't far from the truth really.

A drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face. 

It was almost noon.

Hao had told him to summon the spirits of the wood from a pile of branches he had collected. Yoh didn't know where he got those branches but it took him more than an hour to summon the group of 15 to 20 spirits from them. 

And ever since he did, they've been trading insults at him. Things that could make his ears bleed.

Yeah. Sure. Yoh knew he wasn't the brightest person there is but no need to tell him that over and over and over again. 

But even then, Yoh just listened calmly to their jeers and sneers, not shouting back or getting angry at them.

Seeing his calm and lack of to reaction to their disdainfulness, the spirits began to stop insulting him and seemed to hold a bit of respect for him. 

So instead, they started sharing their experiences and stories with him.

Yoh just sat there listening with interest to all their old grandmother stories. Stories of wonder and of forgotten legends. 

Sometimes he nodded, other times he smiled when they told him how young and inexperienced he was. How they've seen things that he'd only dreamed of seeing. 

Nevertheless with every minute passed, it really was getting harder to maintain the summoning. But Hao had told him to do it for half an hour. 

And as expected, he began dozing off to the consistent murmurs of the chattering spirits.

Unknown to him that two pairs of eyes were supervising him with the utmost interest. 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Hao-sama? Why Yoh-sama take so long to summon wood spirits?"

Hao stared ahead at the sight below him. Yoh was taking a nap again. Not that that surprises him anymore. What did surprise him was that Yoh was still maintaining the summoning subconsciously.

Distractedly, Hao tried to satisfy the little girl's curiosity.

"The branches I've given him, I've taken from a hundreds years old tree. With spirits that old, the shaman who summons them should be equally wise and needs a lot of experience to summon them quickly. If not, it takes sheer persistence and stubbornness to summon them."

"Wow. Yoh-sama stubborn?" Then Opacho added giggling, "Just like Hao-sama!" 

"Just like me?" Hao asked surprised. 

"Yup!"

"Hmph…perhaps even more." He said smiling to himself.

"Maintaining and controlling is always the hardest part of summoning. It's funny that they haven't insulted him more. Yoh must be smarter than what he credits himself to be." Hao laughed at the unbelievable conclusion he made.

After Yoh's thirty minutes were up, he jumped down from the tree branch he and Opacho had been on and silently strolled towards Yoh's sleeping form to wake him for lunch. 

Needless to say, Yoh was in for a rude awakening.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

After another round of running away from his insane, fireball-throwing cousin, he could use a break. Yoh had his first lunch with his companions and luckily it had been quite uneventful.

Then Hao left him again to summon the water spirits. Opacho played along nearby the tiny lake that he was to summon the spirits from. 

And when he managed to finally summon them, Yoh suddenly realized that he had found his natural clones in the forms of the spirits of waters.

And he could not be happier.

They were almost as lazy as he was and were quite content to just float around and relax in the breeze. 

And unlike the wood spirits who disliked him in the first place, the water spirits seem to almost like him. Perhaps they found someone they could relate to.

Yoh smiled at that thought.

He laid down on his back and closed his eyes. He had left the spirits to do what they pleased till the thirty minutes were up though he had the suspicion that they were doing the same thing that he was.

Hao had been right. At first when he tried the summoning, he was close to begging them because they wouldn't be bothered by his needs. But once he did, they were quite content to follow what he wanted them to do.

"Help Yoh-sama! Help!"

Yoh's already droopy lids snapped right open when he heard the frantic shouts.

His stood up quickly and glanced towards the direction of her voice and saw Opacho waving her hands in frenzy in the waters of the lake. The top of her head was bobbing up and down, and she was between choking and spluttering.

Without sparing it a second thought, Yoh jumped into the lake wincing at the sudden chill that met his warm body. As fast as he could with a still healing arm, he swam towards the fast disappearing girl who was near the middle of the lake. 

Ignoring the spasms of pain that flew through his right arm, Yoh managed to grab the panicking girl and swam as fast as he could towards the platform that had led to the middle of the lake. The one that Opacho must have fallen off from.

With his energy fast ebbing, Yoh managed to haul Opacho onto it but when he tried to get up himself he felt that he couldn't move one of his leg.

(Damn! Feels like a cramp.) Yoh realized.

His eyes widened as he lost his only grip on the mossy platform and fell back helplessly into the cold water.

With a useless leg and a still-broken arm, Yoh knew he was in big trouble.

Completely submerged and completely drained of energy, Yoh felt the last of his breath run out and his consciousness slip away when he saw tiny blue lights encompass his body and then his whole world turned black.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Mataku. You just love to get yourself into trouble don't you?" 

Hao said to his soaked and unconscious twin. He crossed his arms as he sighed in relief.

From the floating platform he had been watching the whole scenario with interest. Watched as Yoh became alert to his charge's yells for help. He only paid close attention to his brother's reactions.

After all, Opacho could swim.

It had been a test to see if Yoh could control the water spirits well enough to help Opacho.

But the idiot had managed to surprise him by jumping into the water himself. 

So selfless was he to risk his life for another without thinking twice. 

So Yoh.

Because while he managed to get Opacho out, Yoh had difficulty doing so himself. Which was no surprise considering his condition.

Hao had watched in disbelief as Yoh disappeared from his sight, torn between wanting to help and wanting to let Yoh be independent.

In the end, Yoh managed to prove himself by saving his own hide with the help of the spirits of the waters. 

Hao swore. 

His brother always took his time doing things. 

He'll pay for making him worry like that.

Yes. Hao thought. More spiders shall do the trick. 

God forbid, but tormenting his little brother is such a good stress-reliever.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Hao felt generous enough that he let Yoh rest for the remainder of the day since the incident.

After dinner he instructed Yoh to finish mastering the summoning technique that very night much to his twin's dismay.

"But can't I do that tomorrow?" Yoh said sheepishly trying to bargain his way out.

"No."

Yoh cried.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Even though, Yoh had to admit that if he had done it the next day, he would have not been able to see the beauty of the fire spirits against the night sky. They burned bright like the smaller versions of the fireballs Hao had thrown at him and Yoh smiled happily because it was as if he held the night's stars in his hands. 

"Gyaah!" Yoh dodged right out of the way as one of them flew right at him.

Sounds of giggling pierced the cool night air, as Yoh dodged another attempt to burn him bald. 

During the summoning, the nasty little things tried to burn him. 

Now, after the summoning, the evil fiends from hell are still trying to fry him.

Their personality reminded him of someone he just met. 

Strangely though, he could control the spirits better than he expected he could. Some of the fire spirits seemed overwhelmed by him, almost acting frightened for some unknown reason and they followed his orders willingly. 

Hao's earlier description about them being hard to handle came to his mind. He must have been trying to scare him then.

When Yoh finally finished, he felt more exhausted then he had ever been in his life.

Hao suddenly appeared, giving him a hearty 'Congratulations!' for completing the first part of his special training course. It was then followed by a pat on the back.

At least that's what Hao called it.

To Yoh, it felt as if a huge boulder had slammed into his back from behind. 

That night he tread on heavy feet towards his bed and the moment his head touch the pillow, he drifted off to sleep in a fraction of a second. 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

The leader raises his hand for another strike and Yoh brought his arms up to defend himself. 

The bully's hand seemed to hover for a moment and then it came soaring down. 

A startled yelp resounded in the air.

Seth stood in front of him, his hand grabbing at the boy's wrist effortlessly stopping his impending blow. The rest of the bullies were in a heap on the ground.

The leader looks shocked and didn't seem to believe what he is seeing. A boy who was smaller than him was preventing him from budging with only on hand.

"It's one thing to hurt me. I won't fight back. But if you lay a finger on him again, I **will** kill you." 

The leader's face whitens and he begins to wail and cry like the real coward he is. When Seth released his grip on his wrist, he turned and ran off bawling along with his other friends.

Yoh scanned his companion for injuries. He wasn't really surprised when he realized that Seth didn't look much hurt at all. 

"Are you ok?" He said as he walked together with him towards the main building with a slight limp.

"Yes." Yoh felt like crying again. He should be worried about himself. Not asking about his welfare.

"It's alright. Everything will be okay." Seth said ruffling his hair.

"Yeah." he agreed feeling a little better. 

"I promise you, Yoh. I can't let anything happen to my little brother, now can I?"

(What?!?!)

*Riiiing Riiing*

"Lunch break's over. We better get back."

(No, wait!)

*Riiiing Riiing*

"Okay ni-chan!"

(NO!)

"Wait!" Yoh shouted out. 

In a daze, he sat up too quickly and fell down to the hard marble floor.

His trembling body was hunched and he was barely supporting himself on all fours. His chest moved in and out as his lungs struggled to keep up with his racing heart. Yoh gasped for precious air, his hot breath became a shrouded mist against the chilly atmosphere. His obsidian eyes were wide open and his sweat-covered face had a very shocked expression as he stared unseeingly at the pooled cloth beneath him.

Despite the warmth of the blankets that had been pulled down along with him, Yoh felt unnaturally cold as he realized a solid truth.

"I have a brother."

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Gyah~Why can't I do write as much and as quickly more often? ^^;;

Hao=Seth

Yoh=Sean

Sorry if they sound lame, but I can't have Yoh's adopted parents calling them by their real names, can I? =P Besides, it's what I imagined they would be called if they had English names. *smiles* 

Yes I can see I'm beginning to bore you guys. Hehehe. Sorry for that. Hope it gets more interesting now.

Thanx a million:::

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Goku-chan2002~**jia**~**Kitsune** **Asakura**~**Hikaru**~**Kaori**~**Kary-Asakura**~**Apple-chan**~**Alexis'sIcePhoenix**~**Nyudles~Hirame**

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cool-girl1~~ Gyah~the illustrations for Aniki are great, aren't they? I wish I could say that I drew them, but nah I'm not that good. The illustrations are by SUGARFREE whom I can't thank enough. Mailto: digicat4u@yahoo.com to give your comment.

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Sweet Anime Fan~~Heehee! You're d only one who guessed about the hairy thing. ^^ And you're correct. *gives you an apple* So clever! ^^ 

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winky golden~~ The info about the spirits are made up by mua! Me! It's my crap. Hehehe. Yes, your 'unusualness' caught my eye. ^^;;

Quote of the day:

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Horo Horo, he says

*Buuurrrp!* Say what?

~CrIMsoN fLamE~


	12. Chapter 11

~¤~Aniki~¤~

Disclaimer::: 

I'm amazed that you still read this when you already know what I'm going to say. I don't own SK okay…

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

_….bla bla…. _Is memories

*…bla bla..* Is sound effect

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Chapter 11

Day 3

"I have a brother."

Came the whisper that was deafening in the silent room.

A multitude of feelings washed over the solemn boy on the floor. 

Happiness; that he had a sibling, even if he could be unrelated by blood.

Sadness; that his parents never mentioned it to him.

Curiosity; what about his foster family, why they never visited or made themselves known. 

Confusion; his past in his dreams must have been true.

Excitement; to find his foster family and maybe do some catching up on old times.

However, the next few words that were uttered completely broke the allusion and had brought Yoh hurtling back to reality.

"Your brother is dead."

At that familiar voice, Yoh spun around to look at his cousin and friend of two days with wide stunned eyes. He had been so occupied by his thoughts that he hadn't even noticed him.

Hao stood in his room with his back facing him, arms across each other as he leaned out on the frame of his open window. His midnight eyes stared ahead into the darkness not wanting to meet Yoh's own. 

"W~what did you say?" Yoh stammered uncertain that he had heard correctly.

Hao turned to stare at him straight into his eyes.

"Your brother is dead."

The soft breeze and the familiar scent of dawn blew gently through the window of the small bedroom providing the only briefest of sound. The warm sunlight did little to brighten the dark atmosphere of the room.

"H-how would you know? Do you even know about my past?" Yoh asked hesitantly his gaze following his jittery fingers.

"I know it like a book I've read a thousand times. It is fairly common knowledge amongst the clan."

"What? Why didn't you tell me before? Why didn't anyone tell me before?"

"I did not want to tell you because I fear it would have affected your training. The clan leader forbade anyone to tell you about your past-wanting you to recover your memories on your own. Perhaps he was afraid of what it would do to you if you knew."

"Why? I-I need to know. About my past. Please."

Yoh snuggled up to himself, his knees to his chest as he buried his face in his arms. 

"Why do you wish to know? I would tell you your past if you asked it of me, but it would only be so much to help you regain your memories. And even if you knew… "

(What would you do?)

The bed creaks. Yoh could hear the steady rhythm of the other boy's breathing as he sat beside him in the morning silence noticing that he had trailed off without finishing his sentence.

"You say my brother is dead. How? What about my foster parents? I need to thank them for taking care of me for those years. I need to give them my condolences on their child's death. I need to…" Yoh started to mumble as if to himself.

A slight pat on his back cut him off. Yoh felt the gentle caress soothe out his thoughts and calm him down. Like the ones his mother gave him when he was little-when he was uneasy about something. The ones that told him not to worry.

"Yoh. Even now, you're thinking of others when you should be worrying about yourself. I've even expected you to feel betrayed and to be angry."

Yoh kept silent.

Hao let out a sigh.

"When you were a mere baby, you were taken away from your parents. You were raised in a land called America. There you lived for about five years until one day, the home you've been in was burnt to the ground by a mysterious fire. Both of your foster parents died in that tragedy."

Hao felt Yoh's body stiffen at that, his breath quickening and a quiet choke. 

"You and your brother survived, been named heirs to the family estate. The Clan found out about the fire and made an educated guess based on the information they collected and concluded that you were in fact one of the brothers who had survived the fire. They went to America and got into a fight with the one who had taken you in the first place. They were victorious. However you were injured, and hence your memory loss. And that is how the tale of the famous Asakura Kidnapping goes. It is the most well-known secret of the Clan."

Hao finished with a soft sarcastic murmur.

"They're dead. I can't believe it." Yoh said shakily. "W-what about my brother? You said that he's dead too." A little hope that Hao may have lied to him in the first place resounded in his question.

Hao lifted his reassuring hand and got up, apparently leaving.

"Hao! Tell me!"

Yoh's demand stopped the long-haired shaman in his steps. Hao's voice hid a slight tremble which Yoh did not miss.

"The brother you knew died the very same day that the Clan found and rescued you."

Yoh became totally unfocused, lost in his grief for the family he had gained and lost all in a span of a few hours.

"Yoh. What you know now has changed nothing. I will give you an hour to reorganize yourself and come down for breakfast. We shall continue with your training and then leave for America late midnight tonight."

Seeing the lack of response, Hao shook his head slightly.

"Spare it no more second thoughts and continue on with your life Yoh. The past is the past. There is no use in dwelling on something that will not change. You could not protect your family then. But you can protect your family now. Be strong. That sad look doesn't suit you." 

Hao left his distraught twin on the floor and returned to his room as quickly as his legs can carry. As soon as his feet reached the space of his room, he sagged down into the individual sofa that lay in one of its four corners. Remembering about wanting nothing more than to reveal himself as Yoh's twin brother.

(So why don't you?) His own thoughts mocked him.

"He does not deserve any more grief as it is." Hao answered the voice in his head dully.

(What more harm can you do?)

"He wouldn't believe me."

(Yoh believes in anything.)

"He will not concentrate on his training."

(He is strong. Even you realize that.)

"No, not enough."

(That's not the real reason.)

"If Yoh knows I'm his brother, his blind innocence will bind him to me. If the clan finds out.."

(If the clan finds out?)

"Yoh will die."

The voice in his head shut up immediately and Hao was left alone once more. 

A bitter laugh escaped his lips. 

"Yoh will die if I don't get this sappy ridiculous thought of revealing my secret out of my head." 

Hao reminded to himself softly and proceeded to banish the idea into the deepest, darkest corners of his mind. 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Miles away, a certain Kyoyama Anna shivered.

The night breeze seemed to get colder and colder by the second.  She sat restlessly at the open porch of the old Asakura house. It had been two nights since they lost Yoh to his brother. A short span of time that felt like weeks to Anna.

Anna had to admit. Whatever Hao was doing to avoid their detection, it was effective. Since that day, they have gone for those two days without rest, without sleep, looking for any possible clues to Yoh's whereabouts. All efforts were in vain though and the after-effects of their search are beginning to weigh on them. 

The blonde itako spared a glance towards the open hall. Despite the four futons that had been originally arranged in neat rows, the current occupants had shamelessly reduced them into a pile of mess. The boys scattered around amongst the covers oblivious to the cold hard floor, looking spent and worse for wear.

The three shamans will leave for America for the next stage of the Shaman Fight come morning. Along with her and Manta of course after some insistence. 

A lot of it.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Somewhere a rooster crows at the first sign of day. 

Hao sat in his usual seat at the dining table, slowly stirring the contents of his cup of coffee. Having sent Opacho on an early start to the western lands, the hall was empty of sound save for the sound of approaching footsteps that resounded of the walls.

And as soon as those footsteps came to a halt, a sleepy and dreary Yoh came through the doors and proceeded towards the table. Once there, the shaman immediately fell asleep on his seat.

Hao observed his twin, deep in thought.

If you were to ask anyone who knew him, they would agree that Yoh wasn't the type of person who brood over thoughts that were out of his control. What Yoh would do would be to brush it off and say that everything will turn out alright.

But Hao knew his little brother hid away his problems and feelings behind a happy smile. It was an unhealthy habit, one that could have drastic consequences. 

That was why Hao was a tad bit worried when his twin showed up for breakfast looking as if nothing had happened. They had slipped into the normal routine and when Hao questioned his well-being, Yoh merely gave him a smile and told him not to worry himself over it. 

"You said it yourself. The past is the past. Just drop it, alright."

"Fine." 

Hao excused himself and told Yoh to meet him at the ledge behind the mansion by noon.

What Hao failed to realize was that his twin wasn't as trusting as he thought he was. Yoh had made up his mind to investigate the matter further, not fully believing in his host's words. Clearly Hao was hiding something from him and Yoh was going to find out what it was.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

The warm waters of the river were relaxing to his nerves. Yoh sat at the edge of the stream with both of his feet soaking into its rushing waves. Absent mindedly, Yoh managed to summon a few water spirits who proceeded to laze around him.

He had an hour to go before being scheduled to meet Hao at the ledge. 

What better way to pass the time than to have a short nap in the cool shade while the dipping your feet into a warm river? Can't think of any? 

However for the weary shaman, it was also a time of evaluation. Hao hadn't been telling him the whole story. Yoh had no real proof of that save for the feeling that had been nagging at him for ages now.

And it told him that his brother wasn't dead.

Yoh felt his eyelids getting heavier. The gentle trickling of the water getting softer. The sighs of the water spirits were almost unheard. 

_Shouts of laughter rang through the air._

_He was running. Chasing something. Someone._

_It was no use. That person was just too fast. Yoh ran harder and harder, breathing heavily._

_Finally, it seemed he was getting nearer and nearer._

_And then the person in front of him stopped._

_Yoh bumped into him without warning and they both rolled across the grassy plain, tumbling and turning like a pair of tumbleweeds drifting in the wind._

Yoh woke up with a start. The air was suddenly silent. The water spirits seemed to have disappeared. Feeling eyes on him, he immediately glanced up.

Only to meet the most elegant creature he had ever seen.

Standing before the shaman, staring at him with its glowing red eyes, was a crimson flaming stallion. The whole creature was bathed in different hues of scarlet giving it the effect of actually being burned alive. 

But the steed stood there unmoving, unfazed as the morning breeze played its blazing mane and tail.

Curious and awestruck, the shaman inched his way towards the handsome beast crossing the knee-deep waters of the river.

Something about the stallion is familiar to him.

_"Fyra-chan! Ride ride!"  _

Yoh blinked as the childish voice resounded in his head.

Uncertainly, he called out trying not to stammer.

"Fyra……chan?"

The fire horse's ears flicked towards him and then back again. Other than that, it just stood still. Watching him.

Yoh called out gently every time he took a step towards it until he was but a step left. The stallion didn't even move an inch.

Trembling hands came up towards the stallion's muzzle as Yoh closed the gap between them, staring right into those blazing rubies. His fingers caressed the soft hair. It was amazing. His hand looks as if it's on fire but the blaze didn't even singe him.

"I remember…" a mutter came.

"Fyra-chan? Ride ride?" 

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Whoaaaahahaahaahaa!!!" Yoh half shouted, half laughed out loud.

The ride had been the thrill of his life. Fyra was undoubtedly the fastest steed in the world. Yoh could barely hang on to its back as it sped across the open meadows passing the surroundings in a blur.

It took him a while before he realized that Fyra had slowed down to a stop at the base of the hill of which he was to meet Hao.

Getting off the stallion's back, Yoh straightened his clothes and managed his rumpled hair. 

"Thanks for the ride boy." Yoh said patting the horse gently.

Fyra tilted its head to a side, as if giving him a nod. 

With a neigh, it trotted off into the distance vanishing from view as quickly as it had appeared. 

Yoh proceeded to climb the 'mountain' and nearly shouted in relief when he reached the hill top. He parted the last bushes that separated him from the wide open ledge.

The sight that greeted him was of Hao was standing there his back towards him totally still. Yoh did not know if his cousin realized that he had already arrived but had decided not to disturb him for fear of another bout of fireballs.

A soft wind blew the long tresses from his shoulders and Hao let out a silent sigh.

Then in a swift second that Yoh could barely react, Hao sprinted across the short length of the ground and jumped from the ledge.

And fell face first towards the ground below.

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

Yoh couldn't believe his eyes, reacting a minute too late as he dashed towards the ledge and looked over the edge, his hands reaching out in a futile attempt to save the doomed shaman.

Yoh watched Hao drop feet after feet, his locks billowing wildly behind him, his arms outstretched and his palms open. 

And then he changed.

The transformation had been subtle and controlled.

Where there was a once falling human boy, in his place was a large jet-black eagle.

Letting out a huge shrill, the bird flapped its powerful wings and glided just a few inches off the ground. Its wings beat in a steady rhythm as it ascended towards the blue open sky. The eagle soared through the air with apparent ease and calm before pausing for a bit.

Yoh could have sworn that the avian blinked at him and descended towards the ledge where the stunned shaman sat in awe.

As the majestic creature neared the cliff, it spread its enormous wings and folded them behind its back when its talons touched the ground.

The black eagle's equally dark eyes stared at Yoh as it changed back into a more familiar form. 

Yoh could only gape when Hao smirked at him and asked in a teasing tone,

"Surprised?"

Nod. Fyra had been a big enough surprise but this was even more unexpected.

Hao tilted his head in acknowledgement and slipped quickly into his lecture mode.

"We all have power animals - spirit animals - that are connected to us as protectors. 

Many power animals are our spirit guardians that exist in other realms. 

Some animals were with us from past lives but may have been another physical form. Power Animals are usually a reflection of your deepest self and also represent qualities which you need in this world, but which are often hidden or obscured.

As shamans we have the ability to merge with our power animals to the point of changing physically. Many shamans have learned this technique and it is quite a well-known one. 

The Ten Oracles command animal spirits. Yet they do not often become them. It is said that you risk loosing your consciousness to the animal, becoming like a mindless creature with no sentience. But with enough control and respect, that is fallacy.

All of my comrades have acquired this skill, having the ability to change into a selected animal. 

That is why I expect no less from you."  

Yoh gulped. Somehow he got the feeling that something bad would happen if he didn't meet Hao's expectations.

"First, close your eyes . . . relax your mind . . ."

Yoh obediently did as he was told. He let go of the questions that plagued his mind and tried not to think of anything else. He felt his head grow lighter and lighter. And he liked the sensation. It was like falling asleep to his favorite Bob Love music. 

"Feel the muscles in your body relaxing . . . your head . . . your shoulders . . . your neck . . . your jaw . . . the torso of your body . . . your arms . . ."

The short haired shaman took to relaxation like a fish to water. If there ever was an expert of relaxation around then Yoh would be the one. Soon his body felt as light as a feather and the next words in an echo-dreamlike tone.

  
"Take 2 long slow deep breaths . . . breathing in through your nose . . . holding the breath as is comfortable for you . . . exhaling slowly through your mouth . . ."

Yoh took two deep breaths and after a moment or two sighed contently.

"Still your thoughts. Call your power animal to you."

"How?"

"With your mind, idiot. Telepathically ask your power animal to show itself to you on the screen in your mind."

"Oh."

Yoh frowned a little in concentration. And he nearly shouted in excitement when a blurred shape began to appear before him behind his eye.

He watched transfixed as the image sharpened into fur, fangs, and claws against the dark screen in his head. 

A huge full grown wolf with fur as white as snow, stared back at him with coal black eyes. After a moment or two of staring, it then began to walk in a slow pace towards him. Its strong muscles rippled as it strode with each confident step.

(My lord.) 

Yoh yelped at the mental voice and realized that the one who spoke it was none other than the creature before him.

(Uh...please don't eat me.) Yoh said a bit unnerved.

The wolf made a few noises that sounded like laughter through its large fangs. 

(Eat you? Why young master, you are hardly worth a day's meal. No, no. I would have to fatten you up first.)

(Eep!) Yoh cowered.

(Ha ha ha. Do not tell that you believed me, my lord?)

(Huh?)

(It was a joke, my lord.)

(Whew. That's good.) Yoh sighed in relief while the wolf gave him look of disbelief. (Anyway, who are you?)

(My name is Kiba, my lord Yoh.)

(Kiba. Why do you keep calling me 'my lord'?)

(I, Kiba, am your Guardian, here to serve you and you only, my lord, Asakura Yoh.) The white wolf gave Yoh a bow as a sign of his servitude.

(Oh.) 

There was a peaceful silence as the boy and his wolf stood facing each other in contemplation.

(So what am I supposed to do now?)

(We will merge young master. I will lend you my physical form.)

(How?)

(Leave it to me.)

Yoh forced himself to relax and trust his Guardian. Kiba stepped towards him and as Yoh watched in disbelief, he saw the wolf overlap with his body.

And then his body began to shift, blurring more and more into that of Kiba's. He could feel each cell of his body changing and rearranging itself.

And then the sensation stopped.

Yoh nervously opened his eyes only to find a totally different world. 

Then he realized that it is not the world that has changed but himself.

His senses felt like it has been increased by folds. He could hear a leaf break from its branch meters away. He could smell the strong rich flavor of the earth. He could see the grooves of the tree bark from the base of the hill.

And he had the insane urge to howl and race down the hill, over the river and across the plains. A sore pain shot up his right arm reminding him that it was still injured and to run on four paws would be suicidal.

"The Wolf: loyalty, perseverance, strong sense of self, success."

Yoh's ears flicked at the sudden sound. The canine sniffed the air and caught a distinguishable scent. 

Hao sat on a large boulder observing him with keen interest. Yoh had momentarily forgotten about the human boy.

"It's amazing Yoh. You changed yourself, without the need of my instruction." He said but his voice held no edge of amazement.

Yoh caught a faint scent of unease from the other shaman.

"Do you know how to change back?" 

Yoh tried to answer but instead gave out a few barks.

"I suppose the answer is no."

Yoh shook his head. 

Hao gave a nod of acknowledgement.

"Concentrate. See yourself changing. Will your body back to its original form."

Again as Yoh concentrated, he felt the familiar sensation that sent a tingle down his spine. He felt his body shape-shifting back to his human self.

Yoh looked at his human hands and even checked his feet to see if anything had changed.

Everything had gone back to the way it was before he attempted to contact his animal spirit.

"So did you enjoy yourself?"

"Yeah! It was great!" an exhilarated Yoh exclaimed.

Hao looked amused.

"Well, it's more than just fun and games Yoh. The form you took is that of your Guardian, am I correct?"

"Kiba said he was."

"Your Guardian is your main power animal. It is usually your strongest form and the one that matches your personality the most. And there is more to this than just shape-shifting."

"There is?"

"I will show you."

With that Hao changed again into his eagle form and took to the air again. His wings beat effortlessly as he hovered right in front of Yoh's injured arm.  

And then a whitish glow began to emanate from his arm the moment a warm wave washed throughout his body. When the glow receded, a human Hao stood before him once again.

"What just happened?" Yoh asked confused.

The long-haired boy just shrugged before he brought a hand up.

And landed a heavy blow on Yoh's injured arm. 

Yoh was about to scream in pain when he realized that there wasn't any.

Sure the blow did sting, but there was no agony of broken bones.

None at all.

"What just happened?" Yoh asked again, more confused then ever.

"I just healed your arm genius." Hao mocked, rolling his eyes.

"B-but how?"

"I am not sure. I believe shape-shifting may result in your initiation into higher realms of Spirit and healing. Regardless of the reason, one can heal others when he has learned the art of shape-shifting even though most are too incompetent to achieve this." 

"Oh."

"It is not something that is taught therefore I have no lesson for you. You have to discover it yourself."

Yoh seemed a little excited. Then a frown appeared when he realized something.

"Hey, if you could heal my arm all along, why didn't you do it earlier?"

"Why? Well, I thought you deserved it." Hao grinned.

"What?"

"It'll teach you not to lose in a fight next time."

"B-but I didn't have Amidamaru with me that time."

"Excuses aren't worth anything when you're dead."

"B-but I-I, it hurt a lot!" Yoh complained.

"Yoh, if you do not stop with your whining, I am going to remind you exactly how much it hurts." Hao glared.

That got Yoh to shut up.

"Now that that's settled, we should get some rest before we set to leave."

"Leave?"

"Yes, leave. In case you haven't noticed, the Shaman Fight is still on. And it'll be held in America."

"Oh. How are we going again?"  

"You'll find out later."

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

"Meet our ride."

Yoh stood open mouthed as he arched his neck upwards to have a full view of the enormous spirit.

"The Spirit of Fire, _my mochirei."_

Yoh thought he saw the slightest of flinches from the crimson spirit as Hao said those words. However as it stood there unmoving and staring at him with those glaring eyes, the thought was dismissed as his imagination.

"Yo!" the shaman greeted, lifting one of his hands, not knowing what to say.

The Spirit of Fire tilted its head to a side, as if giving him a nod.

Yoh smiled.

"Let's get going now."

~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~¤~

They readied themselves to board the huge aircraft.

Ren had generously offered his family plane to fly them to America. The flight will take the whole night, with them reaching the western lands the next morning.

A red burning shooting star races across the midnight sky. Briefly, Anna paused to make a wish, almost a prayer that Yoh will be returned to them unharmed. Even though she had already grown past childish notions such as wishing upon a falling star.   

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Okay, first of all. I would really like to say GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! GOMEN NASAI!! for not updating in such a long time…...

And the biggest of THANK YOU's to all you wonderful readers, most of all to those who bugged me to update. ^__^;;; And to those who sent me e-mails thanx again and sorry for not replying. I solemnly swear I will reply all e-mails from now on.

I took some of the info of the power animals from a site somewhere whose address I've lost. If someone knows what site I'm talking about, plz tell me. The credit of course goes to that person who wrote that stuff.

Please Review! If you don't I'll just sulk to myself and say I deserved it. o

Shiroi Ai. (CF)


	13. Chapter 12

¤Aniki¤

Disclaimer::: 

Me no own SK. I do own some original characters (Though I just realized that they are original characters I is stupid) so ask permission if you wanna use them ok.

Legend:::

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

{….bla bla….} Is notes/signs/etc.

_….bla bla…._Is memories

…bla bla.. Is sound effect

****

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Chapter 12

Day 4

Change-they say it is the only constant.

A lot has happened, much more in this week than in his entire life. It all started when he was beaten up and tossed around by a mad boy-band/X-Laws member. Then he was mildly cared for by a cousin, who had made a deal with Anna to train him. The number of odd training sessions had been hell. Plus, he had endured numerous spontaneous fire-balling sessions by said cousin and miraculously survived to this day.

But what has changed his life most were the revelations. Of the time before he lost his memory. Thinking back now, perhaps it was the truck accident that had triggered the appearance of the dream-like memories. The memories had confused him at first, but gradually they began to fit together like the pieces to a forgotten puzzle.

From what he had concluded so far, he had been, as a child, kidnapped and sold off to a foreign family in America. He grew up there, went to a school there. He had a foster brother who also went to the same school as he did. Then, one day when he was about five, his house had burnt down. His foster parents had died in that fire, leaving only him and his brother. After that, it was a blank until the day the Asakura Clan came for him. He was then rescued and taken back to Japan. His brother seemed to have perished that very same day of his rescue.

How much different his life was now…

Asakura Yoh looked up into the wide blue sky of the Americas and sighed. Even it was of a shade different than that in Japan. Barely hours from it and the boy was already missing his homeland. More so of his friends and his mochirei. Yoh had been looking forward to seeing them again.

"I wonder if Ren and Horo had killed each other off yet." The shaman voiced out in amusement.

His mock concern was met with silence.

Hao had shape shifted into his avian form earlier and had flown to who knows where his wings had taken him. But since the Spirit of Fire was still flying with Yoh in one of its hands, the other shaman couldn't be very far away in order to keep up the oversoul.

Which in Yoh's opinion, was far longer than he had expected and could ever hope to accomplish.

The tired shaman got up carefully and stretched his aching joints which had been left inanimate for too long a time. He gave out a cry of relief as a muscle popped silently. The SOF swayed a fraction when Yoh had uttered that sudden sound, as if it was startled.

Yoh managed to contain his balance -since he was still standing- only to find the SOF staring at him with blazing eyes. It was as if it was demanding to know if something had happened.

Yoh seemed to realize this and immediately began waving his hands in front of him while laughing nervously.

"Ehehehe. Daijoubu. Everything's fine." Yoh frantically reassured the giant spirit.

The SOF stared at him for a stretching minute and then looked ahead again, giving out a grunt of annoyance.

Yoh blew out a breath he had been holding. From his stand on the spirit's palm, the jagged landscape passed below him in a steady speed, the cooling but dry wind blowing against him. He observed mildly as a herd of wild mustangs raced freely across the open terrain, kicking up dirt and dust from the parched land.

The young shaman swept a trickle of sweat from his brow. The sun was without mercy. The day was getting hotter and hotter as noon approaches.

Feeling bored without company, Yoh jumped up onto the shoulder of the SOF and sat down beside its head. One of its burning eyes turned to glare at him before reverting to its forward gaze.

Yoh used his unearthly huge amount of free time to study the spirit for once instead of falling asleep like he usually would in these situations. Something in the mannerism of the spirit reminded him of something. All he could think of was those mesmerizing but familiar blazing red eyes. They held a certain arrogance in them, a wild untamed spirit that bowed to no one's will.

"Yet it bows to Hao's will." Yoh said to himself absent-mindedly.

As soon as those words left his lips, the SOF let out a most horrible screech that just about made his eardrums burst at its sheer intensity.

"Grreeaah!!" It screamed.

Yoh had to keep himself from dropping out of the sky and shortening his shamanic career when the SOF jerked from side to side as if trying to toss him off. The startled anxious boy immediately tried to calm the frenzied beast. He stroked the nape of its neck slowly, all the while whispering gentle words of assurance. Yoh winced in pain as the spirit blazed momentarily, burning his hands. The creature seemed to relent to his ministrations after some time, slowing down to its previous steady position.

When the SOF went on as if nothing had happened, Yoh gave a huge sigh of relief and sat down slowly in caution even if he wanted nothing more than to plop down tiredly onto the shoulder and take a nap. When he was safely seated, the shaman gave the spirit a nervous glance. The creature looked deep in thought, if such a thing was plausible, and had seemingly forgotten about his existence for now.

Yoh returned his attention to the matter at hand, wondering what had set the spirit off into that frenzied manner. However, his thoughts were disrupted when an eagle, so black that it could be mistaken for a raven, soared out of the sky and onto the SOF's shoulder right beside him.

In a short second, the eagle was nowhere in sight and in its place stood its human counterpart. Hao looked down onto him and asked,

"Did anything happen?"

Yoh paused. The screech from earlier on must have brought the other shaman back.

"Um, no. Of course not." Yoh answered despite himself. For an unknown reason he felt that he should not tell Hao about the SOF's actions yet.

Hao's equally midnight eyes held him in a scrutinizing gaze that sent a shiver down his spine. After a year-felt minute, they were averted down to his slightly scorched hands. Realizing this, Yoh quickly hid his hands behind his back and flashed his companion a toothy smile. Seeing his actions only brought suspicion to the long haired boy, and Yoh wondered what he would accuse him of doing.

Instead, Hao just looked away.

"Of course." He said. After a while he added, "We should be able to arrive at my base in about three hours' time. But before that, we will make a detour to the Cave of 1000 Souls."

Yoh made an inquiring look.

"You shall see." Hao said before he managed to ask why.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

Dark, dank and dreary.

They were what best described the Cave of 1000 Souls. Yoh managed a gulp as he hesitantly braved a step towards the gaping mouth of the cave. The short-haired boy stared in reluctant awe at the intimidating opening.

"Ne, Hao are you sure we **have** to go into this place?" The shaman asked, glancing nervously behind him.

The long-haired boy looked back at him from his perch on the giant boulder near the cave. There was a slight smile on his face, as if finding amusement in his own private joke.

"No. We don't have to go into the cave." Hao said earning him a sigh of relief from the other boy.

However, his relief didn't last long when the older shaman added cheerfully, "Only **you** will have to go into it."

At that time, the size of Yoh's gaping mouth must have rivaled that of the cave when he heard Hao's announcement.

"B-b-but…" Yoh said with an excellent impression of a fish out of water.

"It is an ultimate test of will, Yoh. Many shamans have yet to overcome the obstacles that lie within. Very few of my followers have gone through this part of shaman training and even fewer managed to succeed in it. Those unfortunate souls who have failed, they add to the number of spirits already in the cave."

The voice of the long-haired shaman seemed to darken with every word spoken. Yoh couldn't help but to gulp noisily at his solemnity. Hao paused to stare at him with those intense black orbs of his and then continued on, looking away.

"The spirits can read your thoughts and your feelings. They will strive to make you lost. You can hear them whisper words of seduction, promising you the deepest of your desires. Surrender to those temptations and you'll surrender your own soul. This is a fight where you are your own enemy."

"Uh-huh." Yoh said intelligently. And then he added, "What am I supposed to do again?"

Hao was on the verge of lifting the boulder he was sitting on and banging it against his brother's skull. He had the biggest suspicion that Yoh hadn't taken in all of what he just said. With gritted teeth he continued.

"Seek out the main spirit guarding the cave and request from it a 'Crystal Tear'."

"Eh?" Yoh's head tilted in curiosity.

The older shaman sighed and went into another round of explanations. "Only those acknowledged as shamans worthy of the Great Spirit will be given a Tear by the guardian spirit of this Cave of 1000 Souls. It would mean a high boost in shamanic abilities and major furyouku level ups."

"Really!?! Cool." Yoh said excitedly. If this training can help him become more powerful in preparation for the Shaman Fight, then he would not hesitate anymore. It's just that… "Do I really have to do this alone?" he asked hopefully.

"For God's sake YES!!! Now go! I don't have the time to sit here and talk to you all day!" Hao scowled.

"H-Hai!" The younger twin exclaimed in a hurry.

"And you'd better not fail this training Yoh. Because if you do, I will personally hunt your soul down and kill you myself for wasting my time and effort in training you. Understood?" Hao warned in a poison-dripped voice.

"H-HAI!!" Yoh shouted in reply and dashed towards the looming entrance.

As his brother's shadow disappeared into the darkness of the cave, Asakura Hao suddenly felt alone. A shiver ran down his spine despite the relatively warm air as he gazed pensively into the wide open sky.

"Be careful. I do not wish to lose you again." Came a sliver of a whisper barely audible in the empty atmosphere.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

The American airport was bustling with people from all walks of life. Kyouyama Anna watched with uninterested eyes as a girl ran up to her boyfriend and showered him with hugs and kisses. The couple walked past her chattering happily and the itako surprised herself as she let out the breath that she didn't realize she was holding back. Anna would not admit it but she was starting to miss her lazy-assed, no good excuse for a fiancé shaman.

With a sigh at her own nostalgic nonsense, she headed towards the airport cafeteria where the short boy had ran off to earlier saying that he was starved while Ren and the others went off to find out more about the Shaman Fight. Which was fine by her since Manta, her gracious benefactor was treating her to lunch-whether he wants to or not.

As the itako reached the general area of the cafeteria, her nose was assaulted by a mass of delicious mouth watering aromas. Anna tried to block out the overbearing noise that also accompanied it while searching for the little chibi.

(A task which is virtually impossible.) Anna thought as her eyes skimmed through the sea of people in the cafeteria.

Then by luck or the grace of Gods, she spotted him on tiptoes, stretching his arms up towards the high - to Manta - counter which held his tray of drinks. Shaking her head, she headed towards him and managed just in time to prevent the tray from toppling over due to his clumsy efforts.

"Ehehehe, thanks Anna-san." Manta said gratefully. Pausing awhile to get a firmer grip on his tray, he then glanced up at her and asked, "Did you get anything to eat yet?"

"No." Came an irritated reply.

Manta sweatdropped. "Er-r then why not try the 1901 Hotdogs? My American pen friend says they're the best."

The itako raised an eyebrow at that but said her approval and followed the short boy when he started to move in the opposite direction.

The pair reached the said stall with little effort and Manta placed an order of two 'Minnesota Twins' when he began to notice a certain familiarity in the blond stall keeper.

Oyamada Manta's face turned stark white and his mouth hung open wide enough to fit a train. The blond adjusted the pin on his shirt that read 'Faust VIII' and smiled pleasantly.

"Would you like drinks with your hotdogs?" The necromancer asked with a hand holding a speared hotdog in the air.

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

At first he saw nothing but infinite darkness. It reminded him of the time when he trained in that cave to prepare to battle against Ren. The battle with Faust VIII had made him weary of the lack of power that he had. He swore to himself that he would never be that weak again. To protect his friends, he would be strong.

#As he walked deeper and deeper into the cave, Yoh began to notice a white shroud forming around him. Pure white mist yet in it there are shadows that lurked and leered. He heard the lost spirits whispering pleas, sensing just on the edge of feeling a fading world behind and a growing world ahead. The shaman gasped as something lashed at his ankle, but passed through like a shadow. That gasp left his lungs burning and head swimming. The air was getting thicker, and it was getting harder to breathe.

Then ahead he could see a white doorway. His palm was already soaked with sweat.

"Little Yoh" wheedled a voice in his ear. "Please come to me little boy…Don't leave me here…"

He turned slightly and immediately felt he was being tugged back, ghostly claws curling around his shoulders and waist, trying to pull him down.

"Stay…I'll give you power…Strength to be the greatest Shaman King of all…"

Yoh struggled hard and staggered free, running through the suffocating mists towards the white door, the image of the destination burning in his mind.#

And what greeted him beyond the blinding door was a surprisingly bare and ordinary cavern. It wasn't very large as Yoh could see to the whole of it through the dim light reflected off the walls. The steady and melodious drip of liquid echoed off the cavern's rocky surface providing the only sound in the deafening silence of the space.

That was when Yoh finally caught on to its presence. He heard it first before actually seeing it. A soft almost inaudible hissing reverberated in his ears and his midnight eyes caught some movement between the jagged stalagmites that decorated the cave floor. The shaman involuntarily took a step back as the shape unfolded itself before him. Forcing a gasp down his throat, Yoh unwillingly studied the beautiful radiant creature that was in front of him.

A huge silver snake with ruby red eyes and golden patterns that adorned its mile long body bathed in the glory of an absent moon, luminescent overlaying its dark background. Its forked tongue flicked out at the barest of seconds to taste the change in the air and slowly the serpent averted its gaze towards a certain shaman.

Yoh couldn't help feeling like a small mouse right now. A stupid rodent who had walked in for dinner. One where **he** is the dinner. Perhaps he should ask for Kiba's help. Sweat broke all over his face under the scrutiny of those crimson orbs. And before the shaman decided to run the hell out of there, the silver reptile spoke in a flurry of hisses.

"Child…Why have you disssturbed my ssslumber?"

At the sudden question, Yoh could not do anything but to stammer and babble uselessly as he stared down nervously at his interesting shoes.

"I-I aah…You see I was err…Umm, I was s-supposed to find this ah…guardian and uh, get a crystal something." Yoh stole a glance at the serpent who was looking at him impassively. "So um, do you know where I can find this guardian so I can get what I want?"

With his question hanging in the air, the intimidating creature continued to gaze at him with cold eyes that made him shiver. Then, it slithered close to him towering over his relatively small frame. The magnificent silver head of the serpent drew near to his face till the tips of their noses were almost touching. Seeing the creature so up close was overwhelming and Yoh could feel his heart beat faster in fear. The snake then slithered around his head until it is side by side with his face.

"Aah but I know what it is you **really** desssire, young Asssakura." It whispered seductively into his ear.

The said shaman felt shivers run marathons up and down his spine. Unable to say anything as the serpent flicked its tongue across his cheek, Yoh had to battle every instinct in his body that told him to escape from the deadly embrace.

"To always be at eassse. To be accccepted by everybody. To be everyone'sss friend. Is this old Ssshin-yuu not accurate in her wordsss?"

Yoh looked at the snake confusedly. How did it know his last name? And how did it know what he had always wanted?

"I sssee you lack any objectionsss young ssshaman. Do you believe that you have achieved what you wished to posssesss? Friendsss?

Yoh smiled at the question, not noticing the sly curving of the serpent's mouth and said confidently,

"Yeah I have friends. Anna, Manta, Ren and the others. Even Hao."

"Aah I sssee." Shin-yuu gave a brief nod and unwound from his head. The luminescent creature then slithered away from him. With her back facing him she asked in a slow and deep voice.

"Are they really your……friendsss?"

"Of course they are. What are you talking ab-?" Yoh started, confused at the seemingly ridiculous question.

However, the sudden voices that began to cut him off before he could complete his sentence.

"Yoh will become the Shaman King and I, his bride will be able to lead an easy life."

Anna's recognizable voice was heard crystal clear and Yoh spun around behind him, expecting the blond itako to be standing there. Yet, there was no sign of the girl.

"One a dominating betrothed……" A hiss in his ear.

"If I stick close to Yoh, people will not disrespect or bully me again because I'm his friend."

The shaman spun around again towards Manta's voice. His heart was beginning to beat faster and faster as the words he had heard began to sink in.

"The other an opportunissstic thinker……"

"I'll use Yoh to train myself to be stronger and become Shaman King myself."

Ren's deep tone echoed off the hard walls. Yoh was breathing hard now, an ache in his pounding chest, his eyes wide open as if trying to escape a bad dream.

"And another…an obsssesssed opponent."

Shin-yuu gave a hiss that sounded like an amused laugh. "I do not sssee any ssso-called friendsss. It ssseemsss you have been missstaken child."

The weary shaman shook his head continuously, "No! No! They're not like that!"

Shin-yuu lifted the tip of her tail and circled that wavering chin. Using her tail as if it was a human limb she tilted the boy's face upwards towards her own. The serpent grinned in satisfaction as she saw desperate denial in those lovely dark eyes that the young human child bore.

"Ooh, how are they like then?"

"They're…they're…" He stammered.

Yoh felt like crying. He couldn't answer her. He couldn't think of what to say. Perhaps he had believed in what the serpent had said. Then came the words that finally broke him down. Old familiar voices saying words that he feared ever having to hear again.

_"...You're weird." _

_"You are not normal." _

_"Weirdo.__ Weirdo. Weirdo."_

The chants repeated in his head until they were all that he ever hears. Yoh felt himself fall to his knees, his tired legs no longer able to withstand his weight. Tears began streaming down his face in a steady flow, him not having the strength to hold them back any longer. Tiny sobs emerged from his throat with his head bent down in defeat. His body trembled and shivered in despair while he wrapped his arms protectively around himself.

"There there, you poor thing…Do not cry, dear child…" The serpent began to coil herself gently around the shaking boy, this time hissing in a soothing, almost motherly tone.

"Forget them……Forget everything…"

Shin-yuu felt the young shaman begin to respond to her warm embrace and gentle words. Yoh's body was becoming more and more relaxed and his sobs were fading away into quiet 'hics'.

"SSStay, young one…I will be your **real** friend. You will be happy here."

At those words, Yoh gazed up and asked in a hopeful voice.

"R-really?" He rasped out hoarsely.

The serpent almost winced at the innocent expression, starting to feel a little guilty for putting him through the agony before.

"Yesss…"

Shin-yuu looked on, burdened with more guilt as the young human gave her a sweet and pure smile of happiness.

"Okay…I wanna stay here…" The shaman whispered softly.

The tired boy snuggled on the serpent's body as if he were on a soft mattress.

"Nmh, it's warm…" Yoh muttered.

The silver snake that is the terror of those who were unfortunate enough to wander unknowingly into the cave, stared unbelievably at the child that fell asleep in her embrace. Being reduced to a bed was something she would never have thought of.

Shin-yuu, the eternal Spirit Guardian of the Cave of 1000 souls, smiled warmly at the slumbering boy nestled within her coils and for the first time found a reason to contradict her name.

"Good night my child."

Translations

Mochirei - Main Spirit

Daijoubu – It's ok

Furyouku – Shamanic power (?)

Hai –Yes

Itako – Spirit medium

Chibi – Small; Midget

Shin-yuu - Deep sadness

¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤

**__**

#Excerpt modified from novel 'Waywalkers' by Catherine Webb. Go read it if u can. 0 The author is a teenager who published her first book at 14I'm so impressed 0 Sugoi ya.

I'm really sorry to all you wonderful reviewers out there. I really don't deserve your nice comments, sniff sniff. GOMEN NASAI. m -- m

I've started University in February this year. Between moving to a new city, and limited internet access and THE ENDLESS NUMBER OF ASSIGNMENTS!!! I haven't been able to find time to write my fics. Sigh……

So I hope you'll forgive me for the major lack of updates. I am determined to finish this story, so I SWEAR I **WILL NOT** DROP IT as long as you guys still wanna read it.

One note: I haven't seen Shaman King for months now, so my facts are a little,(very) blur. Sorry if I made any mistakes on the charas.

I also would like to thank Sugarfree for still drawing for this humble and painstakingly slow fic of mine.

Thanx a lot everybody for all your support!

Quote of the Day:

**Faust VIII**, he says

"To those who didn't realize there was no 'Quote of the Day' in the last chapter are eligible for a free eye exam in my clinic."

**Eliza**, she says

"Terms and conditions apply."

Shiroi Ai: ;; Oi, it's supposed to be a quote. Not an advertisement.;;

WITH BEST REGARDS,

SHIROI AI aka CF

Review desu, Onegai……


	14. Chapter 13

Yeah I'm dead. Manage to find a nice shaman and oversoul...we're writing this fic. I won't say anything else and just get straight to it.

Legend:

(.…bla bla….) Is thoughts

"….bla bla…." Is normal speech

….bla bla…. Is notes/signs/etc.

…_.bla bla…._Is memories

…bla bla.. Is sound effect

* * *

Aniki 

Chapter 13 (ooo blame it on the unlucky number)

Day 5

"Hao-sama! Stop pacing! Hao-sa-" the little girl pleaded.

"Urusai!" Hao shouted at her, shocking himself with the harshness of his tone.

Opacho bit at her lip, the burst of tears just seconds away. The older shaman stopped in his tracks and looked up at her spectral, feeling little bit guilty for his sudden outburst. After all, the child had cared enough to come looking for him when he had not returned back to his base as expected.

"I-I, just leave me alone for now Opacho. Go home." Hao said turning away.

"O-ok Hao-sama…" Opacho sobbed, sensing the other shaman's foul mood.

Within an instant the little girl's spirit disappeared, back to wherever her body was. Hao sighed at her departure, calming down a fraction. The shaman was growing uneasy as time passed by and by without any sign of anyone emerging from the mouth of that cave.

"Damn it." He growled.

* * *

How does one describe the feeling of nothing?

A feeling of bliss. A feeling of emptiness.

No pain. No joy.

No loneliness. No companionship.

No enemies. No friends.

Nothing that was everything. Everything that was nothing.

Yoh sighed and buried himself closer into the warmth that enclosed his whole body. This warmth that was the only thing that was not unfamiliar. It was the warmth that melted him in his mind. Melted his mind into something other than nothing. It started with a soft golden glow, something so different from what he had been experiencing for so long that he did not know what to make of it.

And that something grew larger and larger and with it came sounds and smell and touch. Senses that were dulled to the point of non-existence for as long as Yoh could remember.

"Child…"

The young shaman winced at the sound of her voice for it was the first sound that he had heard since, since. He could not remember when.

Yoh blinked as the earlier glow developed into a scenery with plain dry land, yellowing trees and a huge mansion which loomed before him as if to swallow him whole. A row of steady wooden gates border the mansion with a sturdy looking postbox with the name "Lances" next to its entrance. The familiarity of the scene itched at the edge of his mind but he paid it no particular heed as he observed with curious eyes.

He barely registered the silvery spectral form that materialized beside him or the fact that the both of them looked to be transparent in the world that had now replaced the nothingness like ghosts who have accidentally wandered into another realm.

"My child. What isss thisss?" The serpent guardian hissed out wonderingly.

The young shaman searched his mind for an answer to the question but could not find one.

"I-I don't know…" He stammered still staring at the unfolding scene.

He blinked as a child rushed out of the mansion towards the wooden gates that border the land a piece of white paper gripped firmly in his hands. Sounds of cheerful laughter rang in the air followed by a gentle feminine hush. He watched as a beautiful blond lady walked gracefully towards the young boy who was waving his arms excitedly at the gates. She was garmented in a simple blue old fashioned dress that complimented her bright blue eyes and the long golden locks that curl at its ends. Yoh felt a small smile grace his lips as he looked nostalgically at the lady.

"Interesssting…"

Yoh's attention snapped back to the serpent who he had momentarily forgotten at his side.

"Yuu-chan?" The shaman asked, his midnight eyes shining brightly with curiousity.

Not minding the term of endearment he had used, Shin-yuu gave him a smile at his innocent expression before replying,

"The fact that your mind insssisssted on ssshowing you thisss, ssshowsss itsss sssignificance. Yet you claim to have no memory of it."

"Memory…" Yoh looked at her, a bit confused, a bit curious.

"It ssseemsss I have not control over thisss visssion. I sssuppossse we'll jussst sssee how it goesss…" Shin-yuu said averting her gaze back towards the unfolding scene.

Yoh following suit, held back his many questions till later as he noticed the piece of paper that has flown to his feet. Instinctively he bent over to pick up the white parchment which was noticeably a bit torn around the edges. Not that surprised but a little disappointed when his nimble fingers passed through the paper like it was made out of thin air, the brown-haired shaman straightened himself up again only to find a pair of eyes staring into his.

Or rather they were staring right through him. Yoh gulped as he looked at 'himself', staring at the features that were as familiar to him as night and day albeit a few many years younger.

"Sean…Is everything alright dear?" A soft voice asked with a tinge of worry.

Younger looking Yoh, or 'Sean' it seems, broke away from his gaze, shouted a loud "Yup!" and hastily picked up his paper, subsequently running back towards the lady in the blue dress.

"Mama! Look look!"

The woman gave a graceful smile and bent down to look at her son's painting. Curious, Yoh moved nearer to the pair who remained oblivious to him and peered down from behind the lady's shoulders. As the woman gave praises to the young boy whose face blushed red, the shaman made a quick study of the piece of art in front of him.

The painting was typical of an elementary child's work with bits of crayon green for trees and blue for the sky. In the middle of the picture was four stick figures side by side with happy expressions on them. The one on the farthest left was who Yoh concluded to be young Sean himself with the brown spikes as hair and the shortest of the lot. Beside him was a much taller stick person, the tallest of the four with dark short black hair and a mustache though to Yoh it looked like the mouth had extended up to its nose. Yoh concluded him to be the boy's father. Next came the lady with the obvious long yellow colored streaks. And lastly was one that intrigued him. It was a stick figure a little bit taller than Sean with long brown strokes of crayon for hair. Yoh concluded him to be the brother he had then. And Yoh wondered how he noticed it but noticed he did, that this one's hair was brown as well.

During his past dreams or visions, everything was in black and white. And now with the power of a color he was left with another question. Why is his brother not blond or raven-haired like his parents. Though many factors like the tallest figure was not the father or even that Sean had not enough black crayons passed fleetingly through his mind, Yoh had a feeling that those were not the answers that he was looking for.

However, he was not able to ponder it any longer for the lady straightened herself up while entwining her long fingers with young Sean's shorter stubbier ones and headed back towards the house. Yoh pushed the thought to a corner of his mind for later reflection as he observed the pair further.

"Why we don't we go wait inside? Your father and brother should be home from their hunting soon." She said smiling.

Young Sean nodded in agreement mirroring her smile.

"Maybe they'll bring back some turkey. Then I shall cook us my special roast for dinner." She said in a wondering tone.

"Or maybe they'll bring back an elephant!" Sean shouted excitedly earning healthy laughter from his mother.

"Yes perhaps they will!" the lady agreed heartily.

As their forms disappeared gradually from his sight, Yoh quickly ran towards them, passing through the closing doors in his haste and shocking himself in the process. He was still not used to this conditions that made him feel like a lost ghost wandering through his own memories.

Slowly recovering from his initial shock, Yoh made his way past the typical western furniture and the warm-looking fireplace following the mother and son who were making their way up the elegant flight of stairs. No doubt in his mind, this was a house of the wealthy. They passed by a couple dressed in black and white, presumably the servants of this house who gave a polite bow to them and went back to their respective chores.

Yoh continued on his trailing until he reached a large room with a beautiful four poster king-sized bed with very comfortable looking covers that Yoh knew he would fall into instant sleep he ever had the chance to snuggle in it. Looking jealously as young Sean jumped onto the bed and began to make a mess of the once neatly arranged comforter, the shaman gave a pout and wondered if he could pester someone into buying him something like that.

"What are you doing Mama?" came a curious question from the bed, snapping Yoh out of his wonderings.

The shaman looked towards the lady who was sitting in front of an antique looking dressing table having momentarily forgotten about her in favor of the inviting bed. She seemed to pause in whatever she was doing and looked towards her son,

"I'm writing my diary dear." She replied.

"Diary?" young Sean cocked his head sideways in an enquiring way, which would indeed have made a pretty humorous sight if they could see Yoh who was doing exactly the same thing.

"I'm writing how much I love you, Seth and of course your Papa." The woman explained kindly.

"Really! Let me see! Let me see!" Sean said excitedly jumping off the bed towards his mother.

The lady quickly closed her diary as the young boy reached up and tried to jump and sneak a peek. By that time Yoh had also made his way there and he took a glance at the thin blue leather covered book with golden letterings saying "Katherine's Diary" sitting innocently on the table.

"Sorry dear. It's for me to see only. If anyone else sees it, all their hair falls out and they keep on saying the word 'turtle' forever and ever!" She said seriously.

Young Sean's mouth opened in disbelief and looks as if his eyes were about to fall off. Just then there was a sound from downstairs of the door opening and closing.

"Looks like they're home." The lady, Katherine it seems, stated earning a panicked reply from her son.

"I have to tell them not to see at Mama's diary!" He exclaimed and got up hurriedly to go downstairs.

Yoh felt the need to follow the boy and so he made his way towards the door but not before he saw Katherine reach up to a high spot and knocked three times on the wall. He gazed in surprise a small rectangular spot on the wall popped out like a drawer and after Katherine stored the blue book into it, closed it with a small click. And it looked like any ordinary wall once more.

The shaman blinked at his discovery and made himself remember this particular piece of information. It only served to relight his spark of interest in finding out his past. And then he gradually remembered as he heard the shouts of panic and laughter downstairs that he had to find out about his past family, about the kind Katherine, the elusive father and the mysterious Seth.

And then he remembered what he was doing here and what he was supposed to do. The world then faded again and this time into darkness that surrounded his every being. In a moment of time he started to panic but a steady silvery glow appeared before him.

Seeing the huge serpent suddenly materialize out of thin air served to calm him for the moment yet at the same time induced a bout of nervousness in him. Neither moved nor spoke in the next few seconds that seemed to stretch into eternity as they stared at each other in contemplation.

"I-I…" Yoh finally said, but was unable to continue.

"You wisssh to leave, do you not child?" Shin-yuu finished for him.

When Yoh did not say anything in reply, the serpent continued,

"I have ssseen what you have ssseen then. I know of your desssire to know more. Thisss thirssst you have I wisssh you would forget. It will ssserve nothing but to give you ssssadnessss. Ssstay. Forget and sssorrow will not touch you."

Yoh looked downward and muttered quietly under his breath.

"Ssstay child." Shin-yuu pushed gently.

"No! I can't!" the shaman suddenly shouted.

"Child!" the serpent hissed in anger at the boy's stubbornness.

"Yuu-chan please! I can't stay!" Yoh pleaded willing the serpent to try to understand.

"WHY!" the guardian of the cave bellowed, its mystical voice vibrating throughout the cavern.

"Because!..." Yoh trailed off, calming down before continuing, "Because…I need to find out about myself. I need to find out what really happened. And also because Hao and everyone, my friends are waiting for me…"

"But they are not." Shin-yuu began and soon the voices returned.

_"...You're weird." _

_"You are not normal." _

_"Weirdo. Weirdo. Weirdo."_

"No! I remember then…" Yoh struggled to remember, desperately clutching the sides of his head. "I remember him helping me. My brother. He helped me. I need to find him. He's alive. I feel it."

"But-" Shin-yuu began again but was cut off.

"I believe in them! My brother, Anna, Manta, Ren, Horo Horo, Ryuu, Hao, Opacho, all of them. I want to believe in them." Yoh shouted out desperately clinging to every word. "That's why…I need to…"

There was complete silence when Yoh trailed off, not feeling the need to finish his sentence anymore.

"Thisss Ssshin-yuu wasss missstaken." The serpent said then rising to an unbelievable height towering over him.

Yoh knew he was going to be killed then for defying this truly magnificent guardian of the cave. She was to him a presence that commanded great respect and he felt sure that he had angered her.

"Sorry Yuu-chan." Yoh said softly.

"Asss am I." the serpent hissed silently, as a single tear rolled down its scaly cheek and dropped down onto the ground.

Yoh readied himself for her attack unwilling to fight back against this reverend creature that even for a fleeting moment had shown him motherly kindness.

"Take it and leave." Came the words that only served to confuse him.

The serpent turned its head away from him as the features of the cavern became clearer and clearer until Yoh could make out the jagged spikes that adorn its walls.

"I wasss missstaken." She repeated. "A great shaman hasss ssstood before her. A great shaman with strong determination, not a sssimple young child. Take the Cryssstal Tear and leave. Thisss Ssshin-yuu acknowledgesss you asss one who would make a great Ssshaman King."

Yoh looked at her in shock, not being able to believe his ears. His gaze averted towards the shining item on the floor glowing an ethereal light similar to the serpent itself. He reached out and picked it up carefully as if it might crumble away with the slightest of touch. It was beautiful, tear-shaped with the lightest outline of a snake within it, and shining the changing colors of the rainbow ever so slowly one by one.

"Thank you." He said unable to form any other words.

"The moment from which the fire refusssesss to burn ssshall the assshesss of yourssself be returned. All that you sssee may not be asss it isss and all that there isss, you may not be able to sssee." Shin-yuu suddenly said.

Yoh looked at her curiously, not knowing what her words mean.

"You speak in riddles Yuu-chan. But thanks anyway." he said and did something that surprised the serpent.

He gave the giant guardian a hug. Shin-yuu was unable to respond other than to smile. (Yoh will be Yoh. I shall missss him.)

"I wisssh you happinessss and that you find that which you are looking for." She said with a true smile.

"Thanks again Yuu-chan for everything. I'll come to visit if I can. Matta ne!" the shaman exclaimed and turned to leave.

The shimmering guardian bid one last goodbye and watched as the shaman disappeared from her view. Another rare smile graced her lips as she heard the angry but worried shouts and the hurried apologies, and the great spirit guardian of the Cave of 1000 souls faded back into her slumber in wait for the next shaman who might come to seek her.

* * *

Matta ne! See ya later!

Ah! So sorry! I really am!

I haven't been into this fic for a long time so forgive me if you find any inconsistencies. Please tell me if you find anything that is out of place or doesn't make any sense. I'll try to remedy it.

And I'm sorry but I'm guessing everyone is going OOC, if not already.

Another Sorry for the road at my terrible laziness.

Shiroiai

Ps: I'm really not sure when I can update. Hope it won't take me a year again. Dodges tomatoes. And a flying piano. Anyway sorry again. I realllllly appreciate those who have e-mailed me and encouraged me to continue.

And if you want to be notified when I update leave me your e-mail please. If you have done this before, please do it again. Sorry.. I'll note down the ones from the review for this chap.


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